Owlfly larva lichen mimick, Andasibe, Madagascar

My first owlfly larva, and I wish I had done a better job at capturing it. This one is tiny and very flat, I'm speculating it may be mimicking a lichen to blend in with the tree. The enormous jaws can be found at the bottom.

comments (6)

Christine Young

Lion

Whaaat?! This is so awesome!! Posted 5 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  I agree, but I hardly realised what it was during the session. In hindsight I would have wanted a lot more closeups! Posted 5 years ago

Pudding4brains

Lion

NICE! :o) Posted 5 years ago

Christine Young

Lion

From today's Facebook post:
This fantastically camouflaged insect is an owlfly larva (Family Ascalaphidae). Owlfly larvae are ambush predators—they sit and wait for prey to pass by, which they then seize with their huge, serrated mandibles (jaws). They wield their jaws much like you’d expect the Grim Reaper to brandish his scythe. Not only are their jaws intimidating enough to make any invertebrate quake with fear, but those fearsome fangs also contain paralyzing venom. They inject the venom into their prey so they can suck the poor victim’s guts out without any additional struggle. {Spotted in Madagascar by JungleDragon founder, Ferdy Christant} #JungleDragon Posted 5 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thank you Christine, learned a lot from that description, as always. Posted 5 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    You're welcome :) Posted 5 years ago

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