Chapter 210 - Predation/Predatory Insects

Abstract

This article emphasizes the diverse ways in which predaceous insects live. Many insect predators carry out active hunting. The adults of tiger beetles (Cicindellidae), ground beetles (Carabidae), and many ants (Formicidae) actively run over the ground to capture prey. Many walking or crawling predators, including ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae), lacewing larvae (Chrysopidae), syrphid fly larvae (Syrphidae), and predatory bugs (Hemiptera) feed on sedentary insects such as aphids and scale insects or on eggs and young larvae of more mobile species. Other insect predators are agile flyers and actively snatch insects out of the air. Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) have large eyes and strong wings and feed mainly on mosquitoes and other small flying insects. Robber flies (Asilidae) also catch their prey on the wing, but will often tackle and subdue insects at least their own size, even bees and wasps. Their legs are very strong and they have piercing mouthparts to suck up prey juices. Other insects, such as many social wasps (Vespidae), pluck insects from the ground or vegetation while flying. Many predaceous insects live in fresh water and pursue prey by swimming. The giant water bugs (Belostomatidae) are excellent swimmers and often capture and subdue small fish and tadpoles. Further, insect predators are more important in the regulation of their prey species than is commonly thought. Because they often leave no identifiable remains after devouring prey, the extent of predation is hard to quantify.