David Element
Wildlife
Photography and Digital Video Images
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Bugs
33 – Stiltbugs
ENCHANTER’S NIGHTSHADE STILTBUG Metatropis rufescens
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The distinctive Enchanter’s
Nightshade Stiltbug Metatropis
rufescens
is a woodland species belonging to the family Berytidae. As
the vernacular name suggests this bug feeds on Enchanter’s
Nightshade Circaea lutetiana. This
bug superficially resembles a cranefly or possibly a
spider or a harvestman to human eyes, but the resemblance of this insect is possibly
coincidental rather than being an example of Batesian mimicry and it is
doubtful that most insectivorous birds would be deterred when eyeing it up as a
potential meal. The movement is said to be spider-like too. It is unclear why
the distal ends of the femurs and the middle of the antennae are swollen but in
nature unusual looking structures often have a purpose and the shape of these
structures probably contributes to this subterfuge.
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