Zoological Studies

Variations in the Pit Size of Cueta sauteri (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) Larvae in Response to Past Pit-Building Experience and Food Limitation

Shih-Hsiung Liang, Wan-Yu Lin, Yi-Ching Lin, Yi-Chih Chen, and Bao-Sen Shieh (2010) Few studies on antlion species of Taiwan have been conducted to examine the pit structure of antlion larvae and their pit building responses to food limitations.  Pitbuilding antlions may respond to food limitations by relocating their pits or altering their established pits.  The present study attempted to describe pit structures built in the field and in captivity by the larvae of Cueta sauteri, an antlion species distributed in a prey-poor badland area of southern Taiwan, and compare pit sizes of fed and unfed antlions under different past pit-building experiences in a situation with restrictions on pit relocation.  Cueta sauteri larvae exhibited similar pit-building behaviors and pit structures in both the field and laboratory.  By controlling relocation and preventing pit building, the results of the present study indicated that both food limitations and past pit-building experience affected pit sizes of C. sauteri larvae.  In a comparison between fed and unfed larvae, free-building larvae displayed no differences in pit sizes during 32 d of observation, while size differences were significant in those previously not free-building antlions after 22 d.  We suggest that C. sauteri, a badland species, is more tolerant of food limitations than other antlion species found in prey-rich habitats.