Pitcher fungus gnat larva attacking mosquito prey (4)
Xenoplatyura beaveri (Mycetophilidae) is a web spinning fungus gnat whose larvae inhabit the traps of tropical pitcher plants Nepenthes ampullaria. They spin sticky webs above the surfaces of pitcher fluids to trap emerging mosquitoes (here Tripteroides tenax, which also inhabit the pitchers naturally). Video S4 from Lam WN, Lim RJ, Wong SH, Tan HT. 2018. Predatory dipteran larva contributes to nutrient sequestration in a carnivorous pitcher plant. Biology letters, 14(3):20170716.
Xenoplatyura beaveri (Mycetophilidae) is a web spinning fungus gnat whose larvae inhabit the traps of tropical pitcher plants Nepenthes ampullaria. They spin sticky webs above the surfaces of pitcher fluids to trap emerging mosquitoes (here Tripteroides tenax, which also inhabit the pitchers naturally). Video S4 from Lam WN, Lim RJ, Wong SH, Tan HT. 2018. Predatory dipteran larva contributes to nutrient sequestration in a carnivorous pitcher plant. Biology letters, 14(3):20170716.