Antlion
Antlion
Invertebrate
The fierce larva of a winged insect that traps prey in sand pits.
💡 Fun Facts
- The larva digs a cone-shaped pit in loose sand and waits buried at the bottom with its jaws open.
- When an ant falls in, the antlion throws sand at it to cause miniature avalanches and drag it down.
- They only walk backward, leaving distinctive winding trails in the sand.
Name Story
Myrmeleon formicarius
means “Ant lion”
What does its name mean?
- Myrmeleon — ant lionGreek myrmex 'ant' + leon 'lion'
- formicarius — of the antsLatin formica 'ant'
The young antlion digs a little pit in the sand and waits at the bottom, like a lion, to catch ants that tumble in — and in this name the word for 'ant' appears twice, once in Greek and once in Latin.