Antlions are dragonfly-like insects. The wingless larvae (young ones of an insect) of antlions are small with huge poison-filled jaws. They build deadly sand traps to capture tiny insects, including ants. Scientists recently captured a video of how they catch their prey.
The antlion larvae are considered great engineers and experts in physics since they construct a funnel-shaped pit or hole in the sand and hide below the sand. When an ant or other small insect falls into the pit, the larva, using its head, flings a storm of sand grains up the funnel shaped slope, creating a mini landslide which pulls the prey down. While doing this, the larvae maintain the geometry of the sand traps and ensure that they themselves do not get buried. To replicate this, scientists constructed artificial sand traps and hid an antlion larva in it. They then let small insects fall into the pit, and observed the behaviour and actions of the antlion larvae. They also found that the antlion larva constantly maintain the pit’s angle to always be steep so that the prey can easily slide into it. This process is followed for 1 to 3 years till the larva transform into graceful and less deadly adults.
