[Syrphidae] A larva eating an imago

[Francis Gilbert]

hi Ximo

I am sure this is well within the realms of possibility for many predatory syrphids, but probably the chances of capture are normally very low. Once place where the chances are much higher is in a wasp colony breaking down at the end of the season, when the workers become lethargic, and Volucella pellucens larvae come up into the comb and attack the remaining grubs and sometimes the workers too. Robert Blackith described this to me in a wasp colony he was watching in Ireland (attached).

Francis


Professor Francis Gilbert
Division of Cells, Organisms & Genetics, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham
B132 Life Sciences Building, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD
Tel: 0115 951 3215
website: www.nottingham.ac.uk/~plzfg

From: Syrphidae <syrphidae-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk> On Behalf Of ximo mengual sanchis
Sent: 24 November 2023 13:01
To: Hoverfly discussion list <syrphidae at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>
Subject: [Syrphidae] A larva eating an imago

Dear all,

Check these images please, and let me know what you think:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90016665

This behavior was previously described for a Neotropical species:
https://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442010000400009

Sure you have ideas about it.

Cheers,

Ximo

********************************************************
Dr. Ximo Mengual
Head of the Diptera Section
Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig
Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels
Adenauerallee 127 • 53113 Bonn, Germany

Phone: 0049 (0)228 9122 292
ZFMK web<https://www.zfmk.de/en/zfmk/ximo-mengual>
<http://entomology.si.edu/StaffPages/MengualJ.html>
https://www.bolgermany.de/ | http://syrphidae.myspecies.info/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/pipermail/syrphidae/attachments/20231124/c2941b26/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Blackith_1998.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 43301 bytes
Desc: Blackith_1998.pdf
URL: <http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/pipermail/syrphidae/attachments/20231124/c2941b26/attachment-0001.pdf>