An Unprecedented Role Reversal: Ground Beetle Larvae (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Lure Amphibians and Prey upon Them
نویسندگان
چکیده
Amphibians often feed on beetle larvae, including those of ground beetles (Carabidae). Preliminary reports have detailed an unusual trophic interaction in which, in contrast, larvae of the ground beetle Epomis prey upon juvenile and adult amphibians. While it is known that these larvae feed exclusively on amphibians, how the predator-prey encounter occurs to the advantage of the beetle larvae had been unknown to date. Using laboratory observations and controlled experiments, we recorded the feeding behavior of Epomis larvae, as well as the behavior of their amphibian prey. Here we reveal that larvae of two species of Epomis (E. circumscriptus and E. dejeani) lure their potential predator, taking advantage of the amphibian's predation behavior. The Epomis larva combines a sit-and-wait strategy with unique movements of its antennae and mandibles to draw the attention of the amphibian to the presence of a potential prey. The intensity of this enticement increases with decreasing distance between the larva and the amphibian. When the amphibian attacks, the larva almost always manages to avoid the predator's protracted tongue, exploiting the opportunity to attach itself to the amphibian's body and initiate feeding. Our findings suggest that the trophic interaction between Epomis larvae and amphibians is one of the only natural cases of obligatory predator-prey role reversal. Moreover, this interaction involves a small insect larva that successfully lures and preys on a larger vertebrate. Such role reversal is exceptional in the animal world, extending our perspective of co-evolution in the arms race between predator and prey, and suggesting that counterattack defense behavior has evolved into predator-prey role reversal.
منابع مشابه
Notes on the Reproductive Ecology and Description of the Preimaginal Morphology of Elaphrus sugai Nakane, the Most Endangered Species of Elaphrus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Ground Beetle Worldwide
Elucidating the basic life-history of endangered species is the first important step in the conservation of such species. This study examined the reproductive ecology and the preimaginal morphology of the endangered ground beetle Elaphrus sugai Nakane (Coleoptera: Carabidae); currently, the Watarase wetland of the central Kanto Plain, Japan is the only confirmed locality of this beetle species....
متن کاملUnilateral range finding in diving beetle larvae.
One of the biggest challenges that predators, such as the larvae of the diving beetle Thermonectus marmoratus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), are faced with is to accurately assess the distance of their prey. Most animals derive distance information from disparities of images that are viewed from different angles, from information that is obtained from well-controlled translational movements (motion ...
متن کاملPEST MANAGEMENT AND SAMPLING Methamidophos Application Effects on Pasimachus elongatus (Coleoptera: Carabidae): An Update
Environ. Entomol. 24(3( 559-563 (1995) ABSTRACT Population densities of a predatory ground beetle, Pasimachus elongatus LeConte (Coleoptera: Carabidae), were examined at the Central Plains Experimental Range, Colorado. Using distance sampling theory, I analyzed density estimates dating from before an application of the insecticide methamidophos (1988) and three beetle generations afterward (199...
متن کاملLandscape patterns of species-level association between ground-beetles and overstory trees in boreal forests of western Canada (Coleoptera, Carabidae)
Spatial associations between species of trees and ground-beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) involve many indirect ecological processes, likely reflecting the function of numerous forest ecosystem components. Describing and quantifying these associations at the landscape scale is basic to the development of a surrogate-based framework for biodiversity monitoring and conservation. In this study, we ...
متن کامل