Kingdom Animalia Order Diptera Infraorder Culicomorpha Scientific name Metriocnemus knabi Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Suborder Nematocera Superfamily Chironomoidea Higher classification Metriocnemus | |
Similar Metriocnemus, Insect, Wyeomyia smithii, Fly, Non‑biting midges | ||
Metriocnemus knabi, the pitcher plant midge, is an inquiline invertebrate found only in the phytotelma of the purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. In this microcommunity of bacteria, rotifers, protozoa, and other dipteran larva like Wyeomyia smithii, M. knabi specializes by feeding mostly on the carcasses of drowned insects captured by the plant that collect at the bottom of the pitcher.
References
Metriocnemus knabi Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA