Perginae larvae batch 4
Workbook
This is the fourth collection of Perginae larvae which I am aiming to rear through to adult stage.
My goal is to obtain female Perga dorsalis adults for COI barcoding in order to determine whether Perga dorsalis and Perga affinis individuals identified morphologically have different barcodes.
Collection of larvae at home, October 9th
A large cluster (at least 20) of larvae was found in an upper branch of a juvenile eucalypt (probably E. globoidea), just behind the biolytix irrigation area. They were around 5cm long and a distinctive grey colour.
They were collected as an intact clump on their day-roost branch and transferred to a metal cage with dead leaf litter in the bottom.
11th - 31st October
The larvae showed a regular pattern of activity over this time period, clustering together in one or two quiescent clumps by around 9am, then dispersing in the afternoon to feed overnight. They appeared to feed actively.
Care was taken when adding fresh vegetation to leave the larvae on their existing branch(es) and to retain a proportion of the former branches in the cage. The logic is to keep chemical cues on the branches which the larvae may be using to maintain contact with each other.
On morning of 31st October, the top layer of ground medium/debris was removed and a full bag of peat moss and some vermiculite added.
1st November
6:30am - 3 loose clusters present on vegetation in same sites as on the previous day
8:40am - all larvae have buried themselves in the medium in the bottom of the cage. The larvae were moved to a terrarium along with the medium they were clustered on.
9:30am - the larvae had aggregated on the surface as a coherent mass and were tapping each other vigorously. 23 individuals counted. second photo
12:00pm - the larvae had clustered into a motionless clump in a corner of the tank. About half were visible on the surface, the others were presumably beneath them, perhaps starting to dig down?
2nd November
6:20am - a clump of larvae present in the same corner of the tank, with about 10 visible in the top layer.
8:30am - the entire clump (counted more than 20) had moved to the front of the tank on the surface but then subsequently moved to the back corner.
10:15am - the larvae were clustered but still active, moving to different corners of the tank
11:52am - the clump of larvae formed a tight rosette, with the central larvae digging into the soil - photo
12:00pm - only 8 larvae visible on the surface
12:25pm - now just 3 visible on surface
12:50pm - now just 1 on surface, another half buried
1:17pm - just the same single larva present on surface. It contined to move around the tank on the surface, tapping in an agitated fashion.
1:50pm - we buried the larva in peat moss at the site where the clump had disappeared. Within minutes it had dug itself out and was continuing to wander around the tank.
2:30pm - the lost larva was removed and placed in 90% ethanol for a voucher specimen.
This is a workbook page … a part of our website where we record the observations and references used in making species identifications. The notes will not necessarily be complete. They are a record for our own use, but we are happy to share this information with others.