Hangingfly Captures True Bug in Australia

bugman

November 22nd, 2010 at 10:15 am

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Scorpionfly in active hunting sequence

hanging fly hunting montage australia trevor 1 300x100 Hangingfly Captures True Bug in Australia

Hangingfly captures Bug

Scorpionfly in active hunting sequence
November 22, 2010
Location: Australia
Hi Daniel,
Because of the file size and the hassles I am having with my net connection lately I thought I would email this sequence to you rather than try and use the form. Yesterday I spotted a male trying to wrestle a large moth free of its grip but by the time I got the camera the moth had escaped it. Today I found this one making strenuous efforts to get this true bug nymph free from its grip on a grass stem. It took a while but eventually it managed to pry all its feet loose and fly off with it. I didn’t realise they were active hunters as well as ambush predators.
Feel free to slice up the image or use it whole if you want.
regards,
Trevor

hanging fly hunting montage australia trevor 2 300x101 Hangingfly Captures True Bug in Australia

Hangingfly Captures Bug

Hi Trevor,
Thanks for your continued documentation of this Australian species of Scorpionfly, known as a Hangingfly, as it hunts and mates. For size consideration, we did split up your montage, and six parts might have been preferable to three parts, but we were interested in the time constraint that would entail. Clicking on the image will produce an enlarged version.