Tuesday, January 09, 2024

[vamjwiqc] ovoviviparous fly and spider

swatted a fat fly, tossed its carcass into a cobweb.  I think the spider was happy with free food.

immediately many (20) tiny white worms started crawling out of the fly, probably out its butt.  theory 1: fly had a parasite infesting it.  theory 2: flies carry their young inside them.

some internet research suggests 2 is more likely, and others have observed this.  it was likely a flesh fly.

spider did not seem to have a plan for dealing with the larvae.  it was not for example processing or eating the larvae first.  many larvae dropped, and now I have to deal with a crawly mess on the counter.  spider, you were supposed to deal with this!

sometimes the spider climbed away then immediately came back.  maybe this was to prevent the larvae from crawling onto the spider.

returned later, the fallen larvae seemed gone.  maybe they crawled away; maybe the spider came down and ate them; maybe dead tiny larvae are difficult to see.

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