Antlion trapping ant 2024
In the dry soil beneath the overhang of a shed, small pits in the soil mark the kill zone of antlions. Watch as an antlion larva disappears beneath the earth. Once buried it constructs a conical pit to trap its prey. Among the carcasses of a beetle and a daddy-long-legs, a hapless ant attempts a desperate scramble out of the antlion’s pit, all to no avail. Soon the ant will be pulled underground and drained of its blood. The ant’s carcass will be added to those of other victims near this pit of despair. The beautiful adult stage of an antlion is often mistaken for a dragonfly or other winged insect.