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Photo#1008873
Some larvae and green aphids - Dioprosopa clavata

Some larvae and green aphids - Dioprosopa clavata
Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California, USA
October 8, 2014
There is a large colorful larva and a small white one. Any idea what type of insect they would become?

Moved

Moved
Moved from Unidentified immature stages.

Of note:

"Contributors are encouraged to photograph larval syrphids, then pickle in alcohol and send to Jeff Skevington. He says, "We have built a large DNA library to help with larval ID; we can identify them and build a much better larval photo library. Rearing is an option but it is slow and often without reward."" See here:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/95040

for more info!

Great find!

 
Interesting about the larva and DNA...
I would not be too surprised if the reward would be a wasp predator of Syrphids, as one or more were seen in the vicinity.

Just taking a wild guess but DNA might be extracted from an extremity, or some place that might accidentally draw parasite DNA?

+++++++

Now, the second thing bothering me is that the know Syrphid parasiting wasp can be see seeming to be injecting one of those white skins. I've seen this more than once. My only conclusion is that either, a) There is actually an egg there that I cannot see that is being injected. b) It is merely limbering up or maybe cooling down from having just used its ovipositor (mere millimeters from this shot). Or c) when a Syrphid egg hatches it starts out as some tiny ghost-like thing, and somehow eats its way into the larger larva? I know this is really basic knowledge I lack, but things at this size aren't that obvious to me, and I have yet to go after them with some really high magnification stuff. I will link to the photo I referred to: Genus Diplazon, a syphid predator:

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Syrphid Fly larva…
See reference here.

 
Thanks, Ross! But...
...are they both syrphid larva? I am really confused by the little white thing in the upper right corner! I see them with aphids, but they don't seem like aphids.

 
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The little white thing may be just the shed skin of an aphid.

 
agreed
Aphid shed skin.

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