The antlion is a predatory insect that belongs to the order Netoptera. As an adult, it has four transparent mesh wings. Antlions are found primarily in the tropics and subtropics, but the common antlion is found in Europe and Asia. There are about ten species in our country, and only two thousand on the globe. Adult antlions are similar in appearance to dragonflies, but have longer antennae. During the day they sit on various plants. These insects got their name due to the predatory lifestyle of the larvae. The larvae live in dry sand, digging a funnel-shaped hole in it, and bury themselves in it so that only their jaws protrude from the sand. If an ant wanders into a funnel-shaped hole, the bottom of the funnel may suddenly “explode.” The larva sticks its head out of the sand and sheds sand from the walls. Because of this, the ant cannot get out of the hole and slides down. Not all species of antlions construct trapping pits; some lie in wait for prey in natural shelter, for example in rocks or among plants.

I placed four antlion larvae in a jar of sand and began to observe. The larvae remained motionless for two hours.

Then the larvae began to come to life and move under the layer of sand like this. That their movements became noticeable. Then I put eight live ants in a jar. At first the ants were very active, then they calmed down and began to beat the sand very quickly with their antennae. At this time, the larva grabbed the ant by the abdomen with its jaws and dragged it along with it deep into the sand, and ten minutes later it threw the dry machines up. So the larvae dealt with all the ants. I started feeding the larvae with ants four times a day; the larvae turned out to be very voracious. And after five days the larvae stopped eating. I became curious why. I carefully began to blow the sand with a tube and saw dense balls that looked like pebbles. I opened one ball, there was a black seal with liquid inside and the head of a larva.

I realized that the larvae did not disappear, but pupated. I began to continue my observations. Eight days later, one larva hatched, but did not change in appearance. The other two remained unchanged in the pupal stage. Then I transplanted one of the pupae into an empty jar and placed it on the window, and began to observe whether an adult would emerge. After twenty-four days the larvae hatched. I was surprised how from the pupa (5mm x 7mm in size) an antlion appeared, several times larger than itself. It had a black body, transparent wings with black speckles, and antennae with thickening at the ends. The second larva hatched into an antlion, whose abdomen was brown in color and whose wings looked like a parachute after a jump. But in a jar without sand, the antlion never hatched. I came to the conclusion that the conditions were not suitable for this larva; perhaps the sand serves as protection for the larva.

After observing the development of the antlion, I wanted to continue this species. I am interested to know what enemies this insect has, who feeds on them, what is the population of this species in our area.

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