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Re: mystery life form



 
>
>Tonight - the creature have
>really grown.     The larger
>worms are about 2 inches long,
>3/4 inches thick body, 1& 1/4
>skinny tail.      THe tail looks like
>a think trail of fish poop but it
>still seems to move.     It
>stretches itself to a fine point.
>Sometimes.
>  
>THe front part of the creature is
>thicker now.      It looks like some
>of the milky white color has formed
>strands - like a teensy tiny netting
>aroudn the creatures body.
>It is soft to the touch.      It doesn't
>seem to harm the Mosquito
>Larvae/       I did notice 3 of them
>on a sunken acorn.    It seemed
>that were attached to it by the
>skinny point of the thin  whip-like
>tail.  
>Dinoflagelate cames to mind.
>  
>Does this sound like an insect
>larvae?       I did see a small
>flying insect hovering around
>while I was catching the MOsquito
>for my fish.       Not a bug I am
>used to seeing.
>I wonder if it is an Autumn insect.

It sounds close to the description of a rat-tailed maggot. They are often found in wet leaves in or by the water line which might explain their attraction to the acorn. The "tail" is a breathing tube which can stretch to reach the surface. The adult is a large fly that mimics the apearance of a bumblebee. This mimicry affords them protection from birds that have experienced the sting of a real bumblebee.
 


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