The Red Fungus Gardener - _TNY_7256
This one, which I managed a single sharp shot of in the Älvsjöskogen nature reserve is a ship-timber beetle known as Elateroides dermestoides.
The larvae like to bore through wood (presumably including wooden ships), but there is a cool twist.
The female lays her eggs in the wood and they are coated with spores of a yeast-like fungus called Endomyces hylecoeti from a pouch near her ovipositor.
When the larvae eventually hatch it remains close to the egg shells for a period of time to and subsequently collect some of the spores, before tunneling further into the wood. The fungi then grow on the tunnel walls created by the larvae. The larvae then consume the fungus, rather than the wood itself. As the fungi require air flow to grow, the larvae ensure the tunnels are free of any debris.
The Red Fungus Gardener - _TNY_7256
This one, which I managed a single sharp shot of in the Älvsjöskogen nature reserve is a ship-timber beetle known as Elateroides dermestoides.
The larvae like to bore through wood (presumably including wooden ships), but there is a cool twist.
The female lays her eggs in the wood and they are coated with spores of a yeast-like fungus called Endomyces hylecoeti from a pouch near her ovipositor.
When the larvae eventually hatch it remains close to the egg shells for a period of time to and subsequently collect some of the spores, before tunneling further into the wood. The fungi then grow on the tunnel walls created by the larvae. The larvae then consume the fungus, rather than the wood itself. As the fungi require air flow to grow, the larvae ensure the tunnels are free of any debris.