OLNATIN

Answer: ANTLION

Also known as doodlebugs, antlions are insects. The name “antlion” (ant + lion) refers to their carnivorous larval stage. These fierce, albeit small, predators construct tiny cone-shaped pits in loose soil by walking backwards in a spiral pattern. They methodically remove larger soil particles from their pits, as they construct effective traps for capturing their prey: ants!

When their prey crawls over the edge of the completed pit, the sloping walls of loose soil give way, carrying them down toward the pit’s center. The antlion larva waits, buried beneath the soil at the bottom of the pit. To make it harder for their prey to escape, the antlion may fling loose sand or soil at the entrapped insect. As the prey falls to the bottom of the pit, the antlion grasps it with its large jaws and consumes it. The prey has become a meal for the antlion.

Food provides the energy needed for the antlion to progress to the next stage of its life, a pupa, encased in a ball of silk and sand. The next and final stage of life is the adult. As adults, antlions are nocturnal fliers that resemble a floppy dragonfly. Most antlions are vegetarian as adults and eat meals of pollen and nectar. No longer seeking prey, they now seek to reproduce and thus ensure the next generation of antlions. 

Look around your home or local park in areas of loose or sandy soil. You may just find an antlion pit or two!