What's up frens!
I am back with yet another cool animal oddity I just learnt about.
I am sure you have heard about antlions, the larval stage of insects in the family Myrmeleontidae, which dig pits to trap small prey like ants.
Well, it turns out there is a totally different type of insects that has followed a similar evolutionary path.
Allow me to introduce you to the family of family Vermileonidae. This is a type of fly of about 80 species in which the larvae also build pits in sandy areas and feed on small prey that happens to fall into.
Their pits work pretty much in the same way. The prey gets trapped by its own weight, thanks to collapsing loose sand, which in turn alerts the wormlion. The hunter then starts to inject venom and digestive fluids to the prey and soon after..Dinner is ready.
This is imo a striking example of convergent evolution aka when organisms that aren't closely related evolve similar features or behaviours to deal with the same problems.
Here's a great video by Deep Look explaining their hunting behavior and showing one such individual in action:
And here's another one showing a few more individuals:
It's just amazing how two totally different built larvae have come to employ the exact same strategy. Especially when the antlion looks totally ferocious while the wormlion totally... innocent 😇
Here's a link to Wikipedia if you feel like reading more on Myrmeleontidae.
Ok frens, this is it for today.
See you soon with more bizarre oddities from mother nature!
Posted Using INLEO
whoa! I kept picturing the giant worms of Dune.
That's quite a smart hunting method. 👊😉✌️
That is fascinating! Talk about finely honed evolution, it's a good thing they don't have a version as big as an anaconda or humans would be on the menu too!
!PIMP
Dunno, it would be fun if there was a big version
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i would love to suck of this worm.
Is it gay? NO is a worm!
Bloody California, it's full of traps! 😃
Lmao
You sure look for some strange shit.
!pimp
You !pimp
but do they stake any Leo or own any Gifu? Fake Lions!
!GIFU !PIMP
Their house is their source of feeding 🤣 I wonder how big they will built it, so that to easily caught some food. A very insightful discovery. I wish you a beautiful day friend.
Thanks for coming by fren! !bbh
What is surprising is the speed! It's so fast!
!PIZZA
It's bizarre, but nature is that way. I guess things just moved that way as it was the easiest or best way for them to survive.
!bbh !GIFU
Thank god we humans have evolved past other animal life, Imagine if we had to deal with sand trap digging venomous worms 😖
It would be hilarious imo, imagine taking a walk and then...boom, fall into this. Lmao
The insect world is full of amazing abilities. Like each has its own superpowers.
What a larva of an insect! I didn't expect that a larva has such a hunting skill :)
:)
It is quite interesting what you share, animal adaptation and evolution is a topic that has caught my attention, it is worth investigating these little curiosities.
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can these worms also be found in hip o waters or dirty waters after rainfall?