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ANT LION PITS

antlion pits photo

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Antlions (also called "doodlebugs") are found worldwide, but are especially abundant in the tropics, as illustrated here. This picture shows numerous antlion pits, probably made by Myrmeleon sp. (The pits may look like conical mounds, but this is an optical illusion.) The pits are inverted cone-shaped traps at the base of which the antlion lives. When a small insect (such as an ant) falls inside it is quickly devoured by the antlion. Antlions are in fact the larvae of a flying insect related to lacewings.

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