ハグロハバチ

While I was looking for the larvae of the small copper butterfly, benishijimi, on the leaves of the watermilfoil, I found the larvae of the black winged sawfly, hagurohabachi (Allantus luctifer). The sawfly is a kind of wasp and is one of the most primitive of the wasp species whose larvae are shaped like caterpillars and feed on plant leaves. The fact that they do not have social skills like honeybees, and act alone, may be a sign of their primitive nature. I have seen many larvae this season. See here for a photo of an adult.

While the larvae of butterflies and moths generally have about five small monocles on each side, wasp larvae have only one large monocle on each side. For this reason, some people think that these caterpillars are cute because of their large eyes.

スイバの葉にシジミチョウの幼虫を探していると、ハグロハバチの幼虫がいました。ハバチは幼虫がイモムシの形をしていて、植物の葉を食べる、最も原始的な蜂の一種です。ミツバチなどのような社会性を持たず、単独で行動することも、原始的な性質の表れかもしれません。今の季節スイバの葉に幼虫を多く見ます。成虫の写真はこちらを参照して下さい。

一般に蝶や蛾の幼虫が、片側に6個の小さな単眼を持つのに対して、ハバチの類は左右に1個ずつの大きな単眼しか持ちません。このため、「眼が大きくてかわいい」と、このイモムシだけは可愛がる方もおられます。

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2021-09-17