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
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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
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https://www.google.com/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_Insects/Jk0Hym1yF0cC
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Secret_Lives_of_Ants/gACBQhye2wsC
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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
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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
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