Help me to identify insect found on my okra research plot. It is found to be roaming on the soil. But the exact nature of this insect is not known..
Hi Krishna, I am not familiar with insects in your area but just by looking at the picture, it would appear to be a the larval stage of a predatory beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae (possibly)). I see that there are two elongated extensions at the rear (Urogomphi) which are characteristic of many ground beetle larvae. As for its nature, these insects are highly predatory and actively seek their prey on the surface and at the time of finding it was doing just that. I would need better pictures of the head and underside to be sure and to potentially ID it further.
I hope this helps.
Thanks,
Dion
Dear All,
As many mentioned, this may be a carabid larva but neither legs nor mouth parts could not be seen. As to the terminal cerci not only carabid larvae may have them but also many other oligopod larvae.
Dear Sir András Bozsik ,What possible insects could have such terminal cerci?? Could you specify them, please so that I may identify this and if they are useful ,I may try to seek for their preservation on further research.
The appropriate name for the "terminal cerci" of this beetle larva as well as other larvae of the same family and other beetle families is "urogomphi". Urogomphi are a pair of rigid or mobile, uni- or multiarticulate, variously shaped dorsal formations which can be found in the ninth abdominal segment of holometabolic larvae, and particularly in larvae of beetles (Coleoptera). We can find them in larvae of the following beetle families (but not necessarily in all species of each family): Carabidae, Dytiscidae, Sylphidae, Staphylinidae, Hydraenidae, Histeridae, Elateridae, Drilidae, Cleridae, Ostomatidae, Dermestidae, Nitidulidae, Cucujidae, Cryptophagidae, Colydiidae, Latridiidae, Endomychidae, Erotylidae, Mycetophagidae, Anthicidae, Tenebrionidae, and others. I confirm my hypothesis: the larva in the picture belongs to ground beetles (Carabidae).
Regards,
Rinaldo Nicoli
Thanks Rinaldo Nicoli Aldini, András Bozsik ,Dhia Kareem,Dion Garrett and Navaraj Upadhyaya··sir for your valuable information....
Dear Rinaldo,
Thanks for the detailed comment. Your list was perfect.
Here you can find a German determination for urogomphi:
„Urogomphi, auch Pseudocerci oder Corniculi genannt, kommen bei vielen Käferlarven vor. Es sind paarige, bewegliche oder unbewegliche Anhänge auf der Rückenseite (dorsal) des neunten Hinterleibssegments. Sie bestehen aus einem bis zu wenigen Gliedern.”
English translation of the first phrase: Urogomphi, called also pseudocerci or corniculi, occurs in case of many larvae of Coleoptera.”
S. Kéler: Entomologisches Wörterbuch. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1963.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urogomphus
Dear Krishna,
Would not be simpler to show clean-cut pictures where head, mouthparts and legs can be seen? I prepared a little handout for crop protection students on insect postembryonic development and the larval type used traditionally in Hungarian agricultural entomology teaching. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283510207_Postembryonic_development_of_insects_corrected_handout_and_study_guide_for_agricultural_entomology
I stress that neither categories of postembryonic development nor those of larval types are univocally accepted, so this handout may be strange for many. I am sorry, the text was written in Hungarian, the English summary is brief.
Data Postembryonic development of insects (corrected handout and ...
Thank you, Andràs, for your contribution to the definition of urogomphi, on the basis of a German author. In my previous answer, I have been inspired by the definition provided by one of the greatest Italian entomologists, Guido Grandi (1886-1970), in his very important work "Introduzione alla studio dell'Entomologia" (Edizioni Agricole, Bologna, 1951, 2 voll.).
Rinaldo
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