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The larvae move like snails on their
soles. The absence of legs and the ledges protect them from the ants'
bites, their thick skin from chemical attacks, that is, the ants'
acid. In early research, these larvae were not associated with hover-flies, but were described as (naked? without a house) snails. This opinion may have been supported by the two protrudings ("horns") at the front end, that may resemble snails' tentacles. The larvae, when turning into a chrysalis, move a little bit aside. They quite resemble the larvae, but their color becomes more pronounced, as in the top left half of the picture. |
