antlion (antlion)

A neuropterous insect of the section Plan i pennia, family Myrmeleon tidæ, and genus Myrmeleon, as, for example, M. form i car i us. The name is specifically given to the larva, which has attracted more notice than the perfect insect, on account of the ingenuity displayed by it in Ant -lion (Myrmeleon form i car i us ). Perfect insect and larva. preparing a kind of pitfall for the destruction of insects (chiefly ants). It digs a funnel-shaped hole in the driest and finest sand it can find, working inside the hole and throwing up the particles of sand with its head. When the pit is deep enough, and the sides are quite smooth and sloping, the ant-lion buries itself at the bottom with only its formidable mandibles projecting, and waits for its prey. The moment a victim falls in, the larva seizes it with its mandibles and sucks its juices.