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Archichauliodes diversus belongs to the subfamily Dobsonflies. It is commonly known by the name toe-biter, and its Maori name is puene. The species is native to New Zealand.

Description
The dobsonfly larvae is one of the biggest freshwater insects in New Zealand. The thorax and head are black and flattened, and the head has a large set of  mandibles. The larvae are sturdy animals with heavily sclerotised heads and thoracic segments. The abdomen is long and light in color and it has 8 pairs of tentacle-like gills projecting from abdominal segments 1-8. Like other dobson fly larvae they have anal prolegs with a pair of terminal hooks which they use to attach themselves to substrate, and they lack a terminal filament (the end of the insects ovaries).

Natural global range
Archichauliodes diversus is native to New Zealand.

New Zealand range
Archichauliodes diversus is common throughout New Zealand. It is common in streams with moderate to good water quality, and has tolerance values of 7 (hard bottom sites) and 7.3 (soft bottom sites).

Habitat preferences
Archichauliodes diversus prefers stony streams/hard-bottom streams in bush covered and farmland areas.

Life cycle/Phenology
Archichauliodes diversus larvae are aquatic and the adults are terrestrial. It spends most of its life in the aquatic juvenile stage (2-5 years). The larvae leaves the stream between every molt, an unique feature of this dobsonfly species. It has a generation time of more than a year, and the adult are found near streams.

Diet and foraging
Archichauliodes diversus larvae are predatorial and use their large serrated mandibles to catch other aquatic invertebrates. They are mostly active at night were they ambush prey around the centre of riffles where there is a lot of oxygen and the turbulence stir up prey.

Predators, Parasites, and Diseases
Known species that predate on Archichauliodes diversus :
 * Salmo trutta
 * Galaxiidae
 * Galaxias

Cultural uses
Dobsonflies are in general used as bait for anglers around the world because they are big, have a high endurance and a bad temper.

Interesting facts
Dobsonfly larvae are intolerant of polluted waters, though not to the same extent as larvae of mayflies and caddisflies. They therefore have a potential to be used as indicators of water quality, though Archichauliodes diversus is not regarded as a ‘clean-water’ taxon. Invertebrate predators, such as Archichauliodes diversus are competitors with fish, since they eat many of the same prey animals, e.g. Ephcmeroptera, which are an important food source for fish in streams.