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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Unidentified Immature Stages
Photo#239520
Tiny bananas stuck to pine needles
Copyright © 2008 Charley Eiseman

Tiny bananas stuck to pine needles
Yosemite National Park, California, USA
July 26, 2008
Size: 3 mm
In some cases I found several placed in a row along one needle, so I think these are eggs rather than some weird sort of pupae.
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Charley Eiseman on 12 November, 2008 - 4:26pm
Last updated 4 March, 2013 - 4:05pm

Moved
Moved from Unidentified Tracks, Sign, and Other Mysteries.
Another vote for fly pupae here, and I can't think of a plausible alternative.
… Charley Eiseman, 4 March, 2013 - 4:05pm login or register to post comments

Not that close
but I didn't want to lose this
http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1329044
… John R. Maxwell, 26 February, 2013 - 3:27pm login or register to post comments

 
We've got a couple of those on file
here.
...Glad someone other than me is thinking about these things!
… Charley Eiseman, 26 February, 2013 - 4:09pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Unsolved Bug-related Mysteries.
… Charley Eiseman, 22 February, 2013 - 8:59am login or register to post comments

tiny bananas stuck to pine needles
THe upper ends of these creatures look like they have mouthhooks as fly larvae do. If they were 'stuck' and not moving, they are possibly fly larvae that are in the process of molting to the pupal stage. Or perhaps they are parasitized by a small parasitic wasp, such as an alysiine (Braconidae).
… Joe, 12 November, 2008 - 11:36pm login or register to post comments

 
Could the 'mouthhooks' possibly be
the micropyle of the eggs? These were firm and motionless, and there was no sign of damage to the needles (as there would be with, say, pitch midges that had been feeding there before pupating, which are the only flies I can think of that would be pupating on pine needles). It also seems to me that larvae or pupae should have some kind of segmentation, while these were completely smooth and featureless (except for the tips, as you point out).
… Charley Eiseman, 12 November, 2008 - 11:54pm login or register to post comments

 
Segmentation
It's very subtle and hard to make out, but there seems to be a series of rings up and down the object, consistent with the boundary lines of arthropod segments. Of course, there's nothing to prevent eggs from having rings around them, too- but at least the object seems to not be completely featureless.
… Chuck Entz, 14 March, 2009 - 7:32pm login or register to post comments

probably an egg...
they kind of look like they were glued there, but I've never seen anything like them before. :0
… Jonas Insinga, 12 November, 2008 - 5:38pm login or register to post comments

 
based on the large size,
the only thing I can think of is some kind of katydid, but these don't look like any katydid eggs I've ever heard of.
… Charley Eiseman, 12 November, 2008 - 5:55pm login or register to post comments

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