Solter liber Navás, 1912

Badano, Davide, Acevedo, Fernando & Monserrat, Víctor J., 2014, The larvae of Gepus invisus Navás, 1912 and Solter liber Navás, 1912, a comparative description (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae), Zootaxa 3785 (1), pp. 87-94 : 90-93

Solter liber Navás, 1912

(Figs. 2, 6, 7, 8)

Examined specimens. SE Spain, Almería: Tabernas desert, 350 m: 15.VI.2013 (F. Acevedo and M. A. Dionisio leg.), 1 third instar larva; 7.VII.2013 (D. Badano, F. Acevedo and V. J. Monserrat leg.), 1 third instar larva, 2 second instar larvae of which one reared to the third instar, 1 pupa.

Description. Medium sized larva (Table 1). General coloring (Fig. 2) ochre with darker markings, ventral side of the body very pale, whitish, dorsal side of the head capsule yellowish brown with a median pair of dark brown markings (Fig. 6), clypeo-labrum dark brown, ventral side of the head pale, unmarked except the darker mouthparts (Fig. 7), jaws brown, setae of the body black.

Head. Head capsule rectangular in shape, longer than wide (Figs. 6, 7); clypeo-labrum with a deep median incision; antennae long and thin, composed by at least 14 flagellomeres; ocular tubercles small but prominent, black in color. Dorsal side of head capsule covered with black dolichasters. Mandibles slightly longer than the head capsule and comparatively straight (Fig. 6); the median tooth is the largest and it is closer to apical tooth than to the basal tooth, distance between the base of the mandible and the basal tooth comparable to that between the basal and apical teeth; 5–7 pseudo-teeth interspersed with smaller setae between the base of the mandible and the basal tooth, 2–3 pseudo-teeth interspersed with smaller setae between the basal and median teeth, 1 robust seta between the median and apical teeth; dorsal side of mandible covered with short black setae, ventral side of the mandible equipped with short setae both internally than externally to the maxilla, external margin of the mandible equipped with setae longer toward the base; labial palpi covered with black dolichasters (Fig. 7).

Thorax. Pronotum densely covered with short and robust black dolichasters. Mesothoracic spiracle sessile, dark in color. Mesothorax equipped with prominent setiferous processes of which the anterior pair is pedunculated (Fig. 6).

Legs. Pale in color; metathoracic legs equipped with a fringe of long setae.

Abdomen. Covered with dark setae, longer toward the margins; VIII sternite with extremely small odontoid processes; IX sternite provided with small rastra each bearing 4 digging setae of which the internal pairs are shorter (Fig. 8).

FIGURE 2. Solter liber (Navás, 1912) , 3rd instar larva ( Spain: Almería, Tabernas). A: dorsal view, B: ventral view, C: lateral view.

FIGURES 3–8. Morphological comparisons between 3rd instar larvae of G. invisus (Navás, 1912) and S. liber (Navás, 1912) . 3. G. invisus , dorsal view of the head. 4. G. invisus , ventral view of the head. 5. G. invisus , VIII and IX urites. 6. S. liber , dorsal view of the head. 7. S. liber , ventral view of the head. 8. S. liber , VIII and IX urites. Scale bar: 1 mm.

Ecological notes. The larvae were collected in the semi-desert of Tabernas, in Almería (south-eastern Spain), one of the driest points of Europe, whose landscape is characterized by badlands with limited and sparse vegetation. The larvae were discovered buried in the very fine substratum filling the numerous small cavities which dot the sandstone escarpments.

Behavioral notes. Solter larvae are ambush predators not building pit traps and able to move both forward and backward; they are also adept climbers. In resting position, the larva remains motionless and completely buried in the substrate with only the eyes emerging; the mandibles are kept open wide at more than 180°. When the larva successfully subdues a prey, the latter is not usually dragged under the surface.