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Monday, May 23, 2011

Prey Eats Predator


Cows eat grass, tigers eat deer, and frogs eat beetles. Its only a natural process. However, when the tables are turned and the hunter becomes the hunted, the universe will seem to fall out of balance.

On one side of the ring, the Epomis beetle. An opportunist who is not a really picky eater and has developed an uncanny new prey. On the other side, a frog. One of the many consumers who enjoy snacking on beetles. Once you put the two in an enclosure, the death clock starts ticking. The beetles often like to know there opponent before striking. During the day, all will seem calm. The two organisms might even shelter together in the wild. But at night, things take a deadly spin.

To get their unlikely meal, the beetles lay a series of bites to the amphibian's back. Then in a flight or fight response, the frog will then try violently shaking the insect off. Like it knows biology, the beetle then creates a cut in the frog's back where the central nervous system lies. This incision then disrupts the nervous systems communication with the rest of the body and the body then is paralyzed. A few minutes after the cut, the frog becomes paralyzed and the beetle starts snacking from the legs up. A few hours into the feast, the frog usually is already mostly devoured. The Epomis beetle also can prey on toads, newts and salamanders. Bigger, doesn't always mean better. The Epomis beetle had taken the hunter, and made it the hunted.

Sources :
http://www.livescience.com/14254-beetles-eating-amphibians-predator-prey.html

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