Hi
I'm familiar with Belphariceridae larvae we found tin the freshwater of Haute Ardenne Waterstream close to the German/ Belgium border in Signal de Botrange-Mont rigi region. Not often but we know this larva living on the rocks fixed by this vacuum sticking suctorial disks
and the well visible cephalothorax
Here I have found a strange aquatic larva unknow in a sample of freshwater collected with a lot of other invertebrates in a very streamy river
(high water after flood, so possibility of drift) At the beginning I believed it was a blephariceridae larva... but
The body of this larva seems to be divided in 9 abdominal semgents plus tree thoracic parts, the head is well separated from the body and seems to be a aquatic moth larvae head. It had 4 protuberances each with a kind of spike
The colour of the larva was white and the pictures made of it give a yellow color caused by the lighting used (LEd) to illuminate the organism observed with a stereomicroscope and after put on a glass slide for microscopy (x70).
The length of this larva is quite 3 mm maximum. It had no legs but something like little hooks on the second ventral thoracic segment. The end of the abdomen is terminated with a bunch of hooks and the apical end is composed of two longs spicules
I have found two larave in the whole sample composed of 45 different invertebrate species (about 1000 organisms)
It seemed to me to live easily in the water as it lived more than 4 hours in the collecting tank
If you could help... with these pour pictures
I had just 2 minutes of video... and I have lost the organisms without better pictures
So... thanks you if you could help and give me a direction
Could it be a diptera larva ? Coleoptera larvae ?
Hooks are situated on the last abdominal segment on the ventral side
Edited by solito de solis on 28-06-2015 00:26
Posted by atylotus on 27-06-2015 17:44
#2
Ceratopogonidae, either Forcipomyia or Atrichopogon, but I think it is most likely the latter genus.
Posted by solito de solis on 28-06-2015 00:26
#3
I thank yo a lot, it seems very matching with litterature about
Atrichopogon
This larva is not visible in the main Aquatic Invertebrate Handbook (TACHET) we are often using here in East Belgium and in France, but we can find it in the old litterature like the Henri Bertrand, Insectes aquatiques d'Europe.
Other pictures will follow
SDS
Posted by solito de solis on 29-06-2015 11:00
#4
Forcypomyiinae/ Atrichopogon
Major Group: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Ceratopogonidae
Subfamily: Forcipomyiinae
Descriptive Features:
anterior and posterior prolegs present
body segments with either small spines or long processes
head capsule fully sclerotised
YouTube Video
cordialement
SDS
Edited by solito de solis on 29-06-2015 11:02
Posted by solito de solis on 03-07-2015 09:20
#5
Hi
a few pictures more of this nice larvae
made with stereomicroscope and led enlightment