File: <nemop1.ima.htm> [For educational purposes only] Terminology Glossary <Principal Natural Enemy Groups > <Citations>

Immature Stages of Nemopteridae

[This group is generally included in the Nymphidae]

Detailed information on immature stages of Nemopteridae is being acquired. However, Clausen (1940) noted that the larvae show a marked constriction between the head and thorax, which reaches its greatest development in the grotesque Necrophylus arenarius Roux, a species that occurs in the Egyptian tombs and under ledges along the Nile. The neck is very slender and as long as the remainder of the body. The larvae of all known species live in dust on the floors of caves, in neglected buildings and in other sheltered places.

Croce filipennis West. (Ghosh 1910, Imms 1911) lives in abandoned buildings where the larvae lie in wait on the floor for passing insects, especially Psocidae and Dermestidae. The oval eggs as well as the spherical cocoons are also found in the dust on the floor. The life cycle takes one year, of which the egg and pupal stages require 10-12 and 18-22 days, respectively.

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References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references may be found at: MELVYL Library ]