File: <cyclo1.ima.htm> [For educational purposes only] Terminology Glossary <Principal Natural
Enemy Groups > <Citations> |
Immature Stages of Cyclotornidae
Detailed information on immature
stages of Cyclotornidae is being acquired.
However, Clausen (1940) discussed habits of members of this family in
some length. The Australian Cyclotorna
monocetra Meyr. and other Cyclotorna spp. show a
remarkable adaptation for feeding.
Young larvae are parasitic or predaceous on Cicadellidae, while later
stages feed entirely on body fluids of ant larvae (Dodd 1912). This obligatory change of food at an
intermediate point in the larval period was considered most unusual,
especially as it seems to subject the species to considerable hazard (Clausen
1940). The larvae are also dependent
on the ants themselves in order to gain access to the nest. Female moths lay their eggs in
large numbers on the twigs in the vicinity of leafhopper colonies. On Hatching, young larvae move about until
a prey is found, after which they attach themselves and begin feeding. They change position on the host body
somewhat, but later are found primarily on the abdomen. If wing pads are developed on the host,
feeding is usually beneath one, which is as a result forced out of its normal
position. One to 8 larvae may be
found on a single leafhopper, and a silken web, extended at one side to form
a delicate wall, is formed underneath the host. A portion of hosts probably dies without reaching the adult
stage. The cyclotorinid larvae
sometimes move from one host to another, and thus they are best considered
predators with considerable advancement toward obligate parasitism. The larvae leave their leafhopper
hosts before completing the first instar.
They construct a light, oval and flat cocoon within which the first
molt occurs. Second instar larvae
emerge from this cocoon 3 days later to move a short distance away. Then they assume a peculiar attitude, with
both ends of the body raised so that they almost meet over the dorsum. When mound ants, Iriodomyrmex purpureus Smith, find these larvae they are quickly
seized and carried into the nest.
Here they feed on the body fluids of the ant larvae and at the same
time provide food for the ants through their secretions. When growth is complete, the larvae leave
the ant nest and ascend a tree nearby, where they spin cocoons in crevices of
bark, etc. At adult emergence, the
pupal skin remains partly extruded from the mouth of the cocoon, and the
pupal stage takes 19-20 days (Clausen 1940/1962). The oblong eggs are very tiny and
bear pronounced longitudinal striations.
First instar larvae are oval and quite flat, with a median
longitudinal ridge. They are at first
a dull yellow but later become pink.
There are no large differences between early 2nd instar and mature
larvae. They b ear a close
resemblance to wood lice. The body of
the 2nd instar larva is very flat and oval, with a distinct median dorsal
ridge. Each segment has at its
lateral margin a fleshy pointed projection.
Those on the last segment are produced into a pair of tail-like
processes about as long as the body.
The initial color is orange-red dorsally and white ventrally, which
changes to pink and greenish-blue or blue, the coloration being due to the
body contents showing through the transparent integument. Larvae of C. experta
Meyr. do not have the lateral and caudal processes (Clausen 1940/1962). References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>,
[Additional
references may be found at: MELVYL Library ] |