Fruit‐ and seed‐feeding habit of the crane fly Libnotes puella (Diptera: Limoniidae) in Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Abstract

Although most crane fly larvae consume decaying plant materials and their associated microorganisms, all Libnotes species investigated so far are known to be xylophilous insects. Here we report the novel herbivorous feeding ecology of Libnotes puella. We found that L. puella larvae consumed the fruits or seeds of three unrelated plants, Mitrastemon yamamotoi (Mitrastemonaceae), Balanophora tobiracola (Balanophoraceae) and Barringtonia racemosa (Lecythidaceae). The larvae live within dense tubes formed by their feces fastened by their mucous excretions at the final stage, and they pupate within such tubes. This is the first detailed documentation of the fruit‐ and seed‐feeding habit of crane flies.

A new crane fly species of the genus Libnotes Westwood, 1876 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from Jilin, China

“…), Metalibnotes Alexander, 1972, Neolibnotes Alexander, 1972 and Paralibnotes Alexander, 1972. Most Libnotes species are xylophilous at the larval stage and may have different preferences for wood decaying conditions ( Krivosheina 2008 , Podenas et al 2015 ), but it is also reported that L. ( L. ) puella Alexander, 1925 can be herbivorous ( Suetsugu et al 2019 ).…”