Surplus or ‘wasteful’ killing of uneaten prey has been documented in the fourth larval instar of various species of the mosquito genus Toxorhynchites that occur in treeholes and other phytotelmata. Here we document surplus killing by the predatory midge Corethrella appendiculata, which in Florida cohabits treeholes and artificial containers with larvae of Toxorhynchites rutilus. Provided with a surfeit of larval mosquito prey, surplus killing was observed only in the fourth instar of C. appendiculata, peaking in intensity in the final 24 h prior to pupation, as observed for Toxorhynchites spp. Attack sites identified from videotaped encounters with mosquito prey were divided among head, thorax, abdomen, and siphon. Consumed mosquito larvae (n = 70) were attacked primarily on the head (46%) or siphon (34%), but surplus-killed prey (n = 30) were attacked predominantly on the thorax (83%). Despite its independent evolution among different insect species in aquatic container habitats, the functional significance of prepupal surplus killing remains unclear.

中文翻译：

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Corethrella appendiculata 的捕食性幼虫的剩余杀死：对蚊子猎物的 Prepupal 时间和特定地点攻击

在树洞和其他植物线虫中发生的各种蚊属 Toxorhynchites 的第四龄幼虫中，已经记录了对未吃掉的猎物的剩余或“浪费”杀戮。在这里，我们记录了捕食性蠓科斯雷拉 appendiculata 的剩余杀戮，它在佛罗里达州与树洞和人工容器共居，与 Toxorhynchites rut​​ilus 的幼虫共存。在幼虫蚊子猎物过多的情况下，仅在 C. appendiculata 的四龄观察到过量杀死，在化蛹前的最后 24 小时强度达到峰值，如 Toxorhynchites spp 所观察到的那样。从与蚊子猎物相遇的录像中确定的攻击地点分为头部、胸部、腹部和虹吸管。食用蚊子幼虫（n = 70）主要攻击头部（46%）或虹吸（34%），但被过量杀死的猎物（n = 30）主要攻击胸部（83%）。尽管它在水生容器栖息地的不同昆虫物种之间独立进化，但前蛹剩余杀死的功能意义仍不清楚。