Beetles commonly fall victim to frogs. That's just common knowledge. But turns out there's a fascinating group of beetles that flip the script!
Introducing Epomis!
So, this is a subgenus of beetles that I only heard about today, best known for being obligate role-reversal predators during the larval stage. In simple words, frogs don't eat them. They eat the frogs. And other amphibians as well 😄
Oh, and they feed exclusively on them, at least on the larval stage! To lure them they often make prey-like movements and after evading the first strike it's time for the hunter to become the hunted. The larvae (up to 2 cm long) immediately strike back and latch using their mandibles. Then they begin to suck the bodily fluids much like a parasite. Eventually they start eating the rest of the tissues.
Here's a video showing this in action
And another one
The larva continues to feed on the host until it molts and moves on to find a new one. Eventually it will become an adult beetle. Adults are generalist predators that will also snack on larger amphibians here and there.
Here's a video of an adult individual attacking a much, much bigger frog
Nasty!
This is just the quick rundown of this fascinating group of beetles! As always, Wikipedia is your best friend if you would like to read more about them :)
Tagging @enginewitty cause he loves this shit
Ok friends, this is it for today. See you soon with more animal oddities 😄
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