
	Identification Scientific Name: Myrmeleon sp Common Names: Antlion, doodlebug, fourmilion Classification Class: Insecta Order: Neuroptera Family: Myrmeleontidae Genus: Myrmeleon Species:

Habitat
Antlions occur almost everywhere around the world, but mostly in tropical and semitropical regions. The adults, which have wings, are often attracted by lights at night. The larva live in or on sandy soil.

Profile
Antlions are part of the order Neuroptera, which comprises "only" 4,300 species of insects'a far cry from the 150,000 species of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) or the 350,000 species of Coleoptera (beetles)!

Members of this order are a sort of "invisible minority" in the insect world. They are not only rare, but are also often confused with dragonflies and damselflies. While it is true that they all have four large and highly veined translucent wings, there are some differences. Neuroptera have antennae and a much softer body.

Antlions are famous because of the very special habits of the antlion larva (which is hardly ever seen, since it spends its life buried in the soil!). As soon as it finds a suitable patch of sandy ground, the larva quickly burrows into it backwards, digging out a cone-shaped pit. It buries itself in the sand at the very bottom and waits until a careless insect tumbles over the edge and slides down into the larva's clutches. The insect is impaled on the larva's mandibles, and dragged off into its lair to be eaten.

If ever its prey should try to escape or not fall completely to the bottom, the larva throws grains of sand at it, causing a mini-avalanche that quickly brings the victim within reach of its mandibles. Any crawling insects can fall into the trap, of course, but as its name suggests, the antlion is particularly fond of ants.

Adult antlions rarely survive more than a few weeks, but their larvae are voracious predators that can live for up to two years. For antlion larvae, life is really the pits - but that's the way they like it!

More than 225 species of antlions have been identified in South America to date. In North America, there are only 89 known species.

The antlion larva must have inspired the scriptwriters in one of the Star Wars films. In Return of the Jedi, the evil Jabba the Hut pushes his victims into a sand pit with a monster lying in wait at the bottom, exactly like an antlion larva.

The antlion's mandibles do more than simply pierce the victim-they also inject venom. If you were to shove your finger down to the bottom of an antlion's pit, you could get a bite as painful as a wasp's sting.