Influence of the microhabitat on the trap construction of Myrmeleon brasiliensis (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) larvae

Abstract

Antlion larvae of Myrmeleon brasiliensis (Návas, 1914) build their traps in a microenvironment with protection from the direct action of rain and other perturbations as well as microhabitats that are less protected from disturbances that can destroy the traps. Differences in microhabitats may affect the characteristics of the trap-building process due the high energy expenditure exerted in building and maintaining these traps, which led to the following question: Do antlion larvae of M. brasiliensis build larger traps in protected microhabitats? Considering the occurrence of M. brasiliensis larvae in two microhabitats and the measurements of the size of the larvae and their traps, the hypothesis was that larvae would occur in greater abundance and the trap size would be larger in more protected microhabitats. The results showed that antlions occurred in equal abundance in both microhabitats, but density was greater in the protected microhabitat. Even in months with more rainfall, M. brasiliensis larvae continued to forage throughout the year in the protected microhabitat and the investment in trap size was greater in this microhabitat. This suggests that the larvae of the protected microhabitat have an advantage, given that they have the possibility of foraging throughout the year.