Prey selection by the dobsonfly larva, <i>Protohermes grandis</i> (Megaloptera: Corydalidae)

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<jats:p><jats:bold>SUMMARY</jats:bold> 1. Prey selection by the dobsonfly larva, <jats:italic>Protohermes grandis</jats:italic> (Thunberg), was studied in stony riffles of the Yataro River, central Japan. The density, size distribution and taxonomic composition of available prey were assessed for 2 years. In order to know the encounter rate between prey and this ambush predator, prey mobility was also estimated from patterns of colonization of experimentally detiuded stones.</jats:p><jats:p>2. Foregut analyses revealed that maximum size of prey eaten increased with larval size, and large larvae did not take the smallest prey in spite of high availability in all seasons.</jats:p><jats:p>3. Charnov's (1976) optimal diet model quantitatively predicted such size‐selective feeding under seasonally fluctuating conditions of water temperature and prey availability. Larvae maximized the feeding rate by selecting prey.</jats:p><jats:p>4. Maximum width of prey eaten coincided approximately with larval mandible length. Mandible size seemed to play an important role in the selection of prey in the optimal size range.</jats:p>

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