The Ultimate Bezhoek Experience: Part 1
By Bradden ‘Hiking’ Stevens
This past Ultimate Bezhoek experience was incredible!
I still battle to get my head around how many awesome sightings we had. From Sable, Giraffe, large herds of Wildebees, Impala, Blesbok and Eland to spectacular birding (including a lifer from me, a Yellow-fronted tinker bird) to fascinating insects, carnivorous plants and ancient cycads, we were truly spoiled.
With so much to discuss across numerous fields, I have decided to write a series of short articles. In each one I unpack sightings and give further information about a specific species.
My aim is to educate, create awareness about the vital importance of every living organism in the natural world and hope those that read this share my passion!
We`ve stumbled across an alien!
On Saturday afternoon, about 8kms into our 10km hike, strolling along a sandy road, we discovered an extra-terrestrial!
The youngest member of our group spotted him first, her keen eyes and passion for smaller critters had paid off, in a big way! But what were we looking at? It seldom happens, but I was speechless, with six legs, an elongated body and very large mandibles, a beetle larva for sure, but which one?
Distant memories of a 90’s film “Tremors” instantly sprang to mind. Kevin Bacon fighting off giant worms, “Graboids”, who glide through dirt with ease, dragging their victims underground, never to be seen again!
Fortunately, Alistair (friend and fellow guide) was familiar with this strange sight and quickly got in on the action, informing us that it was the larva of a Monster tiger beetle (a species within the genus Manticora). Thanks buddy! No need for Mulder and Scully to get involved.
The name Monster tiger beetle evokes a sense of awe and the origins of the genus name, Manticora is no different. The name itself is derived from a Persian word meaning “man-eater”. Described in Persian and later Greek mythology as a man-eating beast with a human head, body of a lion and a venomous tail like that of a scorpion.
Fearsome names aside, Monster tiger beetles live a fascinating predatory life and undergo complete metamorphosis or holometabolous. Passing through four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
The lifecycle begins when adult females lay one large egg in a shallow hollow in the ground. Only one or two eggs are laid per breeding season, with seasonal rainfall being a trigger for mating and egg laying.
Worm-like larva emerge, make vertical burrows in loose soil, and become ambush predators with a voracious appetite. Leaving only their armoured heads, used to block the entrance to burrows, and large mandibles exposed. Prey, arthropods, especially ants and grasshoppers, is overpowered and quickly dragged underground to be consumed.
A further adaptation, in the form of hooks on their backs, help larva anchor themselves in the soil.
After several moults, increasing in size with each moult, fully grown larva form a protective casing or pupal cell. Once inside they become dormant while undergoing metamorphosis and develop adult structures.
Adults then emerge from pupa, briefly wait for their exoskeleton and mouth parts to harden, before scurrying off and becoming rapid diurnal hunters, who actively pursue other insects as prey.
From ambush predators to active hunters, Monster tiger beetles live up to legendary Manticora status!
These feisty critters can live up to five years, including several months as larva, consuming thousands of invertebrates and thus helping control the numbers of other insects.
Perhaps not the prettiest insect out there, but fascinating and important none the less!
Hope to stumble across one again soon!