Contrasting diel activity and feeding patterns of four instars of Rhyacophila dorsalis (Trichoptera)

1. Ontogenetic shifts in prey choice and predator behaviour can affect food‐web structure. Therefore, it is important to establish if the diet and feeding activity differ between life‐stages of the same species. This hypothesis was tested for second, third, fourth and fifth larval instars of Rhyacophila dorsalis by comparing their diel activity and feeding patterns. Second to fifth instars collected from two streams were used either for gut analyses or for observations of their activity and feeding patterns in three stream tanks. Food was provided in excess; being organisms living in bryophytes on top of a large stone in each tank, augmented by different‐sized larvae of Ephemeroptera, Simuliidae and Chironomidae. As few first instars for gut analyses were found in the field, the diet of first instars reared in the laboratory was also studied. 2. Larvae for gut analyses were taken 1 h before dusk or dawn (n = 50 larvae per instar for each day or night sample). First and second instars fed on the smaller food items with no significant day‐night differences in diet. Gut contents indicated a progressive trend from feeding chiefly at night in third instars to almost exclusively at night in fifth instars. Fourth and fifth instars fed on the larger food items, whilst the diet of the third instar larvae overlapped with that of both the earlier and later instars. 3. Diel activity patterns of single larvae differed between instars but not within each instar (n = 20 larvae per instar). Second instars were active throughout the 24 h, with peaks at dusk, around midnight, dawn and around midday. A similar pattern was shown by third instars but the peak of activity at midday was less than the other three peaks. Prey were captured only during these peaks for both instars. Fourth and fifth instars were most active, and fed only, at night. They used an ambush strategy to capture more active prey at dusk and dawn (e.g. Baetis, Gammarus), and a searching strategy to capture more sedentary prey during the night (e.g. chironomids, simuliids). These experiments provided support for the hypothesis under test. If competition and/or interference occur between instars, then it could be reduced between earlier and later instars because of differences in their diet and diel pattern of feeding activity.