Antlions are the things of nightmares. Apparently there are people who don't believe these animals exist, but they are absolutely real. Antlions are also known as doodbugs and they build pitfall traps for any would-be passersby insects who are unfortunate enough to fall in. At the center of these perfectly crafted pits are antlion larvae waiting with mandibles open. Now, not all antlions create these pits. Out of approximately 2,000 living there are some who build pit traps, others who remain in leaf litter, and some who also live in holes in trees - they're not all making doom pits. Adult antlions look nothing like their larvae and with a lifespan of only a month as well as a sloppy flight pattern they're nowhere near as imposing. Scientific Name: Family - Myrmeleontidae Range: most of the world; most abundant in warm areas Size: larvae are under an inch (2.54cm); adults can reach 3in (7.62cm) Diet: mostly ants as larvae but also other arthropods, nectar and pollen as adults Lifespan: less than a year up to three years Support the channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/animalfactfiles You can learn more on: Twitter - https://twitter.com/animalfactfiles Facebook - https://facebook.com/animalfactfiles --- We always do what we can to be as accurate as possible, but we're only human; if you catch a mistake please let us know and provide a link for verification! --- All images, videos and sound effects used herein are 1) public domain, 2) used under a Creative Commons license, 3) used with the express permission of the copyright holder, or 4) used under the parameters of Fair Use law. Credits via Flickr: Mira Mechtley - https://www.flickr.com/photos/mmechtley/14564759696 dotun55 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/dotun55/8560287128 Mike Lewinski - https://www.flickr.com/photos/ikewinski/8037023177 patrickkavanagh - https://www.flickr.com/photos/patrick_k59/33419619571 Jean and Fred - https://www.flickr.com/photos/jean_hort/4130973166 Joshua Tree National Park - https://www.flickr.com/photos/joshuatreenp/12489193094 Scott Robinson - https://www.flickr.com/photos/clearlyambiguous/44834322 Credits via Wiki Users: Pristurus - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Myrmeleontidae_-_2017-03-08.webm; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antilon_without_audio.ogv; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antlion.ogv Imac.vincent - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Myrmeleontidae_-_2017-03-08.webm Other attributions: Peter Kuttner - https://vimeo.com/273487075 Larabee F, Suarez A - "Mandible-Powered Escape Jumps in Trap-Jaw Ants Increase Survival Rates during Predator-Prey Encounters". PLOS ONE. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0124871. PMID 25970637. PMC: 4429970. Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid; Stichting Natuurbeelden - https://www.openbeelden.nl/media/808597; https://www.openbeelden.nl/media/813913; https://www.openbeelden.nl/media/807578 PuzzleAudio - https://freesound.org/people/PuzzleAudio/sounds/440807 Websites used for research collection: https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=115093#null https://www.google.com/books/edition/Field_Guide_to_Wildlife_of_the_Gambia/2OrFf_vmw8oC https://www.google.com/books/edition/Life_in_the_Soil/d0MXBkFY07UC https://www.google.com/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_Insects/Jk0Hym1yF0cC https://www.google.com/books/edition/Secret_Lives_of_Ants/gACBQhye2wsC https://www.google.com/books/edition/Naturally_Curious_Day_by_Day/21z4DAAAQBAJ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Kaufman_Field_Guide_to_Insects_of_North/aWVi0IF_jcQC https://www.google.com/books/edition/Nature_Inspired_Computation_in_Engineeri/TwvNCwAAQBAJ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-3032.2007.00580.x https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0017958 https://aem.asm.org/content/71/12/8784.short https://bugguide.net/node/view/137 https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2020/07/08/To-fool-predators-antlion-larvae-play-dead-for-unpredictable-amounts-of-time/2781594207399/ https://www.thoughtco.com/what-are-doodlebugs-1968047 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antlion This video is licensed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)*. *you can find information about all the different types of CC licenses here: https://creativecommons.org/ **changes were made to the original Transcript: alugha Click here to see more videos: https://alugha.com/AnimalFactFiles
On this episode of Animal Fact Files discover an animal that makes an ecosystem. You can learn more on: Twitter - https://twitter.com/animalfactfiles Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/animalfactfiles/ --- All images, videos and sound effects used herein are 1) public domain, 2) used under a Cre
Lungless salamander don't have lungs so they aren't able to inhale in order to smell their surroundings. Instead, they use a special groove on their upper lips that move water and scent particles to their nostrils giving them access to the scents all around them! These amphibians obtain oxygen throu
On this episode of Animal Fact Files discover some of the most well known sharks by name, but perhaps not the most well known in terms of personality. You can learn more on: Twitter - https://twitter.com/animalfactfiles Facebook - https://facebook.com/animalfactfiles/ Correction: At 2:01 it should
