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How do larvae that eat other critters catch and kill their prey? The Dolichopodidae larvae I study (a hobby) burrow through mud with great skill but are slow. It is difficult to imagine them catching something. Any thoughts or references?

Keith

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I guess they kill even slower prey. tabanid larvae inject enzymes in their soft-bodied preys through canals in their mandibels and the prey quickly becomes immobile. However, some species can switch from detritophagous to predatory. When predatory, tabanids prefer soft animals but in captivity they can be fed with crustaceans. It is not sure if they suck the bodyfluids through the same canals or that the actual 'mouth' is somewhere else.

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Atylotus, many thanks for your reply.

I have a captive Tachytrechus vorax in my cool basement that I collected several months ago. I collected it from the damp sand on the shore of a nearby lake. Recently I started feeding it fruit fly larvae Drosophila melanogaster and now it is growing. I have made time lapse movies of the Tv plowing through the sand with the smaller Dm scurrying about. No confirmed pepredation events so far, but the Dm disappear and the Tv gets bigger. The Tv is faster so I think it is capable of catching them.

Keith Short

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I now have a time lapse movie of the Tachytrechus vorax catching a Drosophila melanogaster larva. I think that is what is shows, though so much of the "action" is underground it is hard to be sure.

K

https://youtu.be/...

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My Tachytrechus vorax larva has now pupated. I was able to observe the construction of the sand capsule that it encloses within. Quite interesting. Unfortunately I missed the early stages of construction and was only able to catch the end.

The time-lapse of the very last stages may be seen here...

https://www.youtu...UhSYQo_m9o