Setae and sensilla in the Iberian Myrmeleon Linnaeus, 1767 larvae (Insecta, Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae)

Abstract

Myrmeleon (tribe Myrmeleontini) is the most successful genus within Myrmeleontidae in number of species. This is probably due to its pit-building behavior, a famous adaptation of antlion larvae but present only in a few genera of the family. In the Iberian Peninsula, where only two other genera are able to construct these traps (Euroleon in tribe Myrmeleontini and Myrmecaelurus in tribe Myrmecaelurini), five species of Myrmeleon are present: M. formicarius, M. gerlindae, M. inconspicuus, M. almohadarum and M. hyalinus. There are some useful characters to tell apart the larvae of these species using optical microscope, including the disposition of digging setae or some color spots. In this work, we study the type of setae on these species in their larval stage using SEM. The type of bristles, digging setae, and the rest of sensilla found are not different in shape, surface or structure between species. All of these confer them a great equipment in their psammophilous lifestyle.