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Natural Ant Killer... The Ant Lion

By
Real Estate Agent with Bean Group / Franklin

I was telling my husband that I was tired of having ants in the house. He told me... "We need more Ant Lions." "Ant Lions?", I asked. "What are those?"

He took me outside and showed me a group of sand craters next to the foundation of our house. He said, "Watch this." He grabbed an ant and threw it into the crater. The ant struggled to crawl out of the crater. Within seconds, the sand at the bottom of the crater began to stir. A head and pinchers popped up and grabbed the ant. Although the ant struggled to get away, it was drawn down below the surface of the sand.

ant lion hole

I was amazed. But what does an Ant Lion look like, I wondered. Does it look like an Ant? A Lion? What?

I discovered two things: An Ant Lion is an insect from the family Myrmeleontidae, that is known by several different names here in North America; Sand Dragon or Doodlebug. It has similar stages of growth to the Dragonfly: The Larva, the Pupa and the Adult. The completion of its life cycle can take up to three years.

Well, I thought. My husband does have the right idea. We do need more Ant Lions, but judging by the amount of ant holes we have in the yard, we'll need to truck them in. And then what? Could we possibly have too many Ant Lions? And if so, who takes out the Ant Lions? Hmmmm.

Perhaps I should just let Nature take its course.

Frances Sanderson, Franklin, NH  REALTOR®, Certified EcoBroker®

Show All Comments
Christine McInerney
Great Life RE - Knoxville, TN
The McInerney Team, Knoxville TN Homes For Sale

These things are very unique- nature has some amazing creations, many which are so small we never even notice them.  Thanks for sharing the video- I have not seen an ant lion in quite a while.

Jun 11, 2009 02:34 PM
Dennis Goudreau
DRG INSPECTIONS LLC - Nashua, NH

very cool Fran & cheaper then boraite

Jun 13, 2009 05:26 AM
Frances Sanderson
Bean Group / Franklin - Franklin, NH
Christine and Jennifer... I realize now that I didn't point out that it is the Larvae that eat ants and other unfortunate bugs that fall into the crater, but I think the video explains these amazing creatures perfectly. Glad you checked in. Dennis... Cheaper and better for the environment. For anybody else checking in: If you see these insects, please don't destroy them. They are considered "beneficial pests" according to Wikipedia. Fran :-)
Jun 14, 2009 02:23 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

I had no clue...thanks for sharing.  If I saw one of those, I would have not known it was "beneficial" as it looks so creepy!

Jun 14, 2009 04:44 AM
Frances Sanderson
Bean Group / Franklin - Franklin, NH

I agree with you, Sharon. It looks like a creature from those old Sc-Fi movies that came out in the sixties. And yet, the adult form of this species is beautiful. Sort of a "Cinderella" bug :-)

Jun 16, 2009 06:02 AM
Alyssa Salander
SparkRental - Philadelphia, PA
Financial Freedom with Rental Income!

man you weren't kidding when you said you were into funky types of homes!

Jun 16, 2009 08:34 AM
Frances Sanderson
Bean Group / Franklin - Franklin, NH
Hi G.B. I'm not sure if you are refering to the photo of the Pod House I left on your blog post the other day or the Ant Lions around my home, but thanks for checking in. Don't be surprised if you locate one of your own soon, now that I've made you aware of them :-) Fran
Jun 17, 2009 02:01 AM
Anonymous
Saleem Akhtar Baloch

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Hi dear you are right these are very unique creature, with unique characters also they keep on feeding but never excrete in larval stage, also can live hungry up to weeks very good predator fro crawling pest and other annoying insects which shelter in soil and crevices. very active in nature and behave very different in captivity. But, get very soon adopted like animal pets, you can rear them at home. Just you have to feed them twice a day then if you are lucky enough you might see their adults but if you rear your own then you will see its adult after one year.

I am working on my Ph.D. project on these at Pakistan if any expert (entomology or genomics) there then please contacts me at “sa02arid28@yahoo.com”

Aug 16, 2009 06:31 PM
#8
Frances Sanderson
Bean Group / Franklin - Franklin, NH
Hi Saleem, Thank you for your additional information. So you have Ant Lions in Pakistan! I wondered if they were only in America. I also would not have considered having them as pets. If there are any folks out there who have Ant Lions as pets, please add your comment here. Good luck on your thesis Saleem.
Aug 17, 2009 07:33 AM
Anonymous
Saleem Akhtar Baloch

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No they are not only in America they are in most of world countries. Here no body I having them as pet. I am the only person who has decided to work on them because I think they in danger due to heavy pesticides use, Use of heavy machines moves at off road sites and also due to loss of their habitats. And especially in northern areas the army operations may have a big loss of biodiversity. I am trying to add my bit share to save them from being in stories instead of live.if you need any information about them feel free to ask at " 02arid28@gmail.com"

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Nov 09, 2009 05:47 PM
#10
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