Post-cephalic sensory organs of third instar Lasioptera donacis in relation to feeding behavior

The larval stages of Lasioptera donacis feed on an ambrosia fungus which invades the mesophyll of the host plant Arundo donax. The mouth parts are vestigial but the salivary gland is hypertrophied for extra-oral digestion. A structure on the prothorax, the spatula, acts as a slicer and dicer for macerating the fungal mycelium, a sort of extra-oral set of teeth. An array of sensory organs between the mouth and spatula, including sensory setae and biporous campaniform sensillae, may be gustatory in function. Attendant to the spatula itself is an array of setose papillae and socket-shaped structures. There is also a pair of "eye-spots" which putatively serve a visual function.