SUGAR FEEDING BY THE LARVA OF CHRYSOPA (NEUROPTERA)

Abstract

The larva of Chrysopa, in addition to feeding on aphids, takes a sugar meal from floral nectar, honeydew or, in captivity, solutions of sucrose. Sugar sources are located by a questing activity during which it scans the substrate with the antennae and palps. Feeding on honeydew may lead the larva towards aphids, on which it then proceeds to feed, and this is perhaps a normal sequence in nature.It is pointed out that this duality of the feeding process — sugar meal and protein-rich meal — seems to be unique among endopterygote larvae, although well known in many adult insects. The larval sugar meal of Chrysopa may be a secondary characteristic which originated from the use of honeydew as an indicator when searching for prey.