The old saying identifies the lion as the king of the jungle, feared and respected by all. Every creature which lives in or enters its realm, be it jungle or savanna, must respect the hierarchy of the order.
Legend has it the regal creature can be generous with vassals or savagely brutal. The reason or cause for the difference is attributed to a variety of noble concepts and insights.
Fortunately, panhandle Florida’s human residents do not have to navigate the vagaries of a large, carnivorous feline’s logic and code of honor. The area’s tiny insect population is not so lucky in several respects.
Antlions inhabit the sandy soils of north Florida and patiently await the clueless victims. While not a member of the cat family, they have their own mythic history equally as opaque as the African lion’s behavior and motivation.
This antlion larva is in search of an ideal trap sight in the warming weather. Once covered with sand at the base of a pit, it will dine on all comers small enough to hold.
The insects’ minuscule cone-shaped death traps have fascinated countless generations of children. This ruse is said to obscure a hungry creature worthy of a contemporary horror movie, complete with grasping mandibles and a pitiless gaze.
Luckily, only small ants and other insects of a similar size are susceptible to these snares. Almost everyone has seen an ant attempting to escape while suffering the sliding sand underfoot which keeps them in the little pit.
Antlions are actually found in many places round the globe, usually with dry, sandy environments. They are members of the Myrmeleontidae insect family with about 2,000 distinct members.
What is known as the antlion is actually the larval stage of a suborder of lacewings, an insect considered to be beneficial. While this suborder or group uses sand traps to procure meals, the other suborder eats mainly aphids which are a major horticulture and agriculture pest.
This order of insects is ancient and dates back to the Permian period over 250 million years ago. There was a mass die off of animals at end of the Permian period which saw over 70 percent of the species disappear, but the lacewings continued.
Their simple life cycle has four stages. Eggs are laid in the sand and incubated by the warmth of the sun.
While this may seem to be a harmless little indentation to any human passerby, this antlion trap could spell doom for any insects unlucky enough to venture too close.
Soon the fearsome appearing antlion emerges and begins its search for a proper trap site. The wandering will take the insects through a variety of micro environments.
As they travel in their search, they leave erratic tracks in the soil which appear to some as scribbling or doodling. In this pre-pit trap phase the insect has been identified as a doodlebug.
Once ensconced in the sand trap, the antlion will dine on any hapless insects or spiders which exhaust themselves on the slippery walls of the cone. As the victim slows and retreats to the bottom of the pit, the antlion grasps then dismembers and consumes the meal.
Once its nutritional requirements are fulfilled, the antlion constructs a cocoon from sand and silk. It retires for a month long reprieve as it develops into a mature lacewing.
When it emerges, the ages old cycle begins again. Antlions may not be the king of beasts or insects, but they have earned a place as effective survivors through the changing epochs.
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