The Antlion / La Hormiga León

Whenever walking in the fields, I have often come across strange loose sand surrounded holes on the ground. Being a geologist, no wonder this volcano shapes have always catched my eye…

…and though of course it’s long ago that I know the answer to such a weird feature… and weird responsible creature…, its natural drama still chills my spine… 

Here-after is the tale to it.

If a tell you about a tiny monster called Antlion, you might think of any of both animals… and yet none of them is the character of this history, but an insect living in an externally looking ant colony, but feeding on ants… and an aggressive lion insect indeed.

A part time buried, part time flying insect of the neuropter order, or “nervous wing” creature. As an adult, the Antlion looks like a slow, long anthem dragonfly, floating like a balloon rather than speeding like a helicopter, flying from plant to plant where they feed on pollen. 

Quite beautiful.

Contrarily, larvae are ugly. 

They live on their tenebrous underground pit below their volcano traps, where they will eat without mercy  any pitiful insect happening to walk on their shaky un-climbable loose sand slopes… 
After two or three years living as a stalking pirate, the larvae will bury itself on a cocoon and give rise to an only 35 days lasting flying adult.

So whenever Antlions are on their feverish mating flights, it’s worth good time to pay some attention to them and take some pictures…