Antlion

Antlion Pits

As I was coming back to my home (for the next week, anyway), I saw many little ditches in the dry, sandy dirt near my door.  They were different sizes, but all perfectly formed.  These must be antlion pits (see photo).  The antlion is the larval (baby) form of a lacewing insect.  They are sometimes called doodlebugs because of the designs that they make in the sandy soil as they are looking for a good place to dig their pit).  An antlion looks a like a chubby pillbug with giant pincher jaws.  The antlion uses these massive pinchers to toss sand from the bottom of its pit (sandy ditch) to make the walls so steep that when an ant steps just over the edge of the pit, it slides down the sandy wall and right into the waiting jaws of the antlion.


Take a look at this cross-section photo (from dk images) of an antlion who just captured an ant in its pit. When this happens, the antlion kicks a spout of sand from the bottom of the pit. 

You can see the antlion at work in this video. Look carefully to see its giant jaws doing the digging and tossing. As antlions grow larger, they make larger pits. I bet when I return tomorrow that pit will be all repaired and the antlion will be at the bottom, with jaws protruding, waiting for its next meal.

- Fran Zakutansky