Thursday, September 22, 2011

Baby Beetle Uses Mouth to Lure Amphibians to Their Doom

http://wired.com/wiredscience/2011/09/epomis-beetle-amphibians/

by Dave Mosher

Two recently discovered beetles can latch onto frogs, toads and other amphibians many times their size, then devour them. Normally amphibians eat small larve. The closer an amphibian moved toward a beetle larva, the more wildly the larva moved its antennaes. When the amphibian shot out his tongue to eat the larva, the larva quickly dodged him, then latched on to his skin and sucked them dry. The larva is now taking its revenge against the amphibians.