Subject: Antlion Pits, Myrmeleon sp.

Location: Carter Caves State Park, Kentucky

Stock Number: IMG_0193

Comments: Not all Antlion species dig pits, and in fact only those in the genus Myrmeleon do so.

The larvae construct the conical pits and wait for hapless ants to blunder in. The larvae wait at the bottom of the pit, concealed by sand.

The pits' conical shape helps ensure the ants lose footing on the sandy slope, and finally the ant reaches the bottom where the stout mandibles of the Antlion larvae spring shut.