OK – några ursäkter för att inte ha fulla bilder * ännu * av larverna i fråga (Det gör jag om några dagar!). Under helgen var jag ute med en grupp Berkeley-studenter på Mount Hamilton och doktorand Meghan Culpepper samlade några arter av Scaphinotus och några larver! So the specimen from Monday was indeed the larvae of a Scaphinotus beetle feasting inside the shell of a native terrestrial snail. This challenge was a hard one since these predatory Scaphinotus larvae are rarely encountered and there are zero images of out there – and none of them feeding. Better luck next time!
For now, here is an undetermined Scaphinotus species. In the coming weeks I will have 4-5 species photographed and identified (by Meghan) – and the larvae will have to be sequenced for species ID. Håll ögonen öppna.
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