Antlion
Antlion (genus Myrmeleon)
If you’re walking through a sandy area on the Punta Banda peninsula and see a conical hole about the size of a half dollar, it’s likely to be the lair of an antlion! The name “antlion” is likely derived from their typical prey, ants, and the formidable predator, the lion. In their larval form, these insects dig pit traps in the sand, bury themselves at the bottom of the pit, lay in wait for unsuspecting prey to fall in, and then rise up and devour them. The Smithsonian has some dramatic and entertaining footage of this event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2K3v29zeOM
Antlions are sometimes call “doodlebugs” because of the winding, spiraling trails the larvae leave in the sand as they search for a good spot to dig their pit traps. Interestingly, antlions cannot move forward – their legs are designed for backward motion and digging, and they use their heads to flick sand backward to create their traps.
The antlion’s appearance is more menacing than the word “doodlebug” would suggest. If they were much larger, they would look like something out of a science fiction horror movie. In fact, some terrifying creatures in a couple of popular science fiction movies were modeled after antlions:
Ceti Eel
Star Trek: Wrath of Khan
Sarlacc
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
In “Star Trek: Wrath of Khan,” the “ceti eels” look like oversized antlions. Khan uses these creatures as instruments of torture and mind control. The Ceti eel is inserted into the victim’s ear, and it burrows until it’s able to attach itself to the the victim’s brain stem – causing extreme pain, madness, or death.
In “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” the “sarlaccs” are monsters that live at the bottom of a deep sand pit and wait for their prey, just like antlions
But like caterpillars turning into butterflies, the frightful antlion larvaecon metamorphize into ethereal, winged adults. They have long, slender bodies like damselflies and two pairs of lacelike, translucent wings. Mostly nocturnal, you can often see them dancing around lights in the late summer and fall.
