#lacewing larva

[onenicebugperday]

sorry for the photo quality- what kind of buggy is this? I had to sorta lift up the mess on its back to even see the friend! found around Binghamton, NY

Ohhh peeking at him!! It's a debris-carrying lacewing larva :)

[alcnfr]

A Trashbug, aka Green Lacewing larva (Mallada signatus).

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Giant Antlions (Palpares immensus): these enormous antlions have been known to attack geckos and other small reptiles

The images above depict the larval stage of Palpares immensus, which is one of the largest antlion species in the world.

This article provides more information about the unusual behavior of this species:

The larvae live freely in sand and are ambush hunters. They are voracious predators and feed mainly on other arthropods, but have been known to attack geckos and, in one case a small adder. They are unable to feed on these reptiles and usually die as a result of not being able to extract their jaws from the vertebrate prey.

These antlions can be found in sandy, arid environments throughout southern Africa.

The adult form of Palpares immensus is also depicted in the images below:

Sources & More Info:

Biodiversity and Development Institute: Palpares immensus

Global Biodiversity Information Facility: P. immensus

Animal Life: Giant Antlion Larva

What's That Bug?: Uncovering Antlion Habitats

[textless]

[xxyikesmanxx]

I work at Walmart and this aphidlion larva surprise bit the shit out of me out of nowhere he will live forever in infamy and in an alcohol specimen tube

RIP brave warrior

[zipmode]

Anyways when we finally decide we're sick of tumblrs bullshit can we all move to iNaturalist as the next big social media. [Holding hand out] do you want to look at creatures with me.

[nistipata]

Eoic ohrogodump

[smellslikebot]

??????????

[video description: A small bug covered in lichen and other debris slowly climbs up a compost pile. End video description]

[jupiterswasphouse]

[VIDEO TAKEN: JUNE 22ND, 2023 | Video ID: A video of a green lacewing larva carrying around a white and brown mass of exoskeletal matter while walking across a wooden board on a fence, with a black ant also passing by, although out of focus /End ID.]

Just realized I have a video or two I missed posting!

[onenicebugperday]

No ids needed [I have no idea what the third one is, but I know it's too small to id, lol], just some fun findings from my grandpa's backyard!

Third one is a lil lacewing larva :) All very cute!

[alcnfr]

The Emerald Jumping Spider (Paraphidippus aurantius) examined this Trash Bug (Family... Chrysopidae) but found it non-appetizing...

[precambrianpark]

lacewing larvae started crawlin on me

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Vida's Sheep Jumping Spider: researchers believe that these tiny spiders developed their "woolly" appearance as a way to mimic lacewing larvae or scale insects

The scientific name for this species is Oviballus vidae, but it has also been referred to as the "sheepy jumping spider" or "Vida's jumping spider." It was discovered in 2015, and first described (in a formal context) back in 2020.

As this article (PDF) describes:

Recently, two new salticids, R. legitima and Oviballus vidae were described from South Africa, and suggested to be mimics of either scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) or lacewing larvae (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), due to their white colouration and the presence of peculiar tufts of white setae on the body.

The possibility of [scale insects] being the model is supported by Oviballus vidae being regularly collected from plants with woolly scales, although the movements of O. vidae quite closely resemble those of chrysopid larvae.

In fact, a fourth species of possible scale mimic, a new Rhene species, was recently discovered in a collection of salticids from southern Mozambique, indicating that this phenomenon may be more widespread than has previously been known or even suspected.

O. vidae was named after Vida van der Walt, the photographer who captured some of the first images of these spiders back in 2015, just after the species was discovered by Dr. Galina Azarkina. Vida van der Walt also took the photographs that appear in this post.

Sources & More Info:

Arthropoda Selecta (scientific journal): Rediscovery and Redescription of Rhene cooperi, another possible mimic of scale insects (PDF)

Spider Club of South Africa: Two New Species Named After SA Photographer (PDF, with the relevant info on page 5)

Field Guide to the Spiders of South Africa: Section on Vida's Sheep Jumping Spider

[textless]

[indecisive-ire]

L A R V A E