See how predatory mosquitoes feed on larvae under a microscope.
shows how two mosquito species, Toxorhynchites, and Psorophora, in their larval stage, catch prey by shooting their heads away from their bodies like harpoons and reel in their victims with a thin neck membrane. Simultaneously, it opens its mouth and snap closes on the prey upon impact.
A third species, Sabethes cyaneus, which feeds on other larvae and microorganisms , lacks the head-extension mechanism. Instead, it uses a swift flick of its tail to sweep prey towards its head, where the jaws again clamp down on it.have been a source of fascination for Robert G. Hancock, Ph.D., professor of biology at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, who led the research.
When he tried to capture the strikes in the 1990s, "it was so incredibly fast," said Hancock. "The only thing that we saw was a blur of action." Now, armed with a high-speed digital camera, the striking motion of the larvae can be seen in graphic detail. "I saw it first, and my jaw dropped, and it still does every time I watch it," he says.
In all three species in the study, both strike styles take about 15 milliseconds. Hancock says that such high speed indicates a highly developed, almost reflexive behavior called a fixed-action pattern. He compared it to the swallowing action, which involves multiple, small individual muscle actions."All of this stuff has to work in concert—we all do it so automatically. And that's exactly what these mosquito larvae strikes have to be. It's a package deal," said Hancock.
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