Community post
Meet - Ant Lion!
Picture for preview:
Today I will tell you about such an unusual insect as an ant lion!
It refers to insects with two stages of development, that is, first it exists as a larva, and then, having passed metamorphosis, an adult appears - on a scientific "imago".
Portrait of our hero (imago), look at his rainbow eyes!
The adult ant lion is behaving quite peacefully, flies on flowers and eats pollen)
Hypnotizing Look:
Outwardly it resembles a dragonfly, But they are not related at all – our lion belongs to the order of the Neuroptera). So he is more likely a relative of all the familiar Green lacewing (chrysopa), She is from the same order Neuroptera.
Ant lion in all its glory)
So why is this peaceful insect called an ant lion?
Due to the non-peaceful way of life of his larvae, pay attention to the powerful "jaws":
This predatory larva lives in the sand, where it digs out a conical fossa. She hides her body at the very bottom, only her head and deadly "jaws" remain on the surface. Hiding, she waits for the moment when some kind of carefree insect (often ants, hence the name) stumbles on the edge and falls down.
But unhappy victims do not always give up without a fight, often they are very actively trying to get out of the trap. And for such a case, the larva of the ant lion has a deadly trick: his head, she throws sand at a sacrifice, not letting her go.
As soon as the future dinner is at the bottom, the larva thrusts its jaws and injects poison.
This substance is also a "gastric acid", that is, contains enzymes that dissolve the interior of the victim. Then she just drinks the resulting "broth" (by the way, spiders eat the same way), and throws out the empty shell of the victim from his fossa. Such is the terrible story!
Finally, i will ask you a small puzzle, try to find the larva of the ant lion in the next photo, she is very well camouflaged in the sand!
Found or not? Write in the comments! :)
Thank you for watching! If you liked it - subscribe, there will be many more interesting! :)
If you make a repost, I'll be just happy! )))
Replies (12)
great macro! upvoted&followed, look at my macro photos :)
Thank you! You have good photos, I follow! :)
Upper left corner?
No, in the center. Look for jaws, it's easiest to notice)
Oh yes I see it now. After I commented I thought, bad idea, because he is a great photographer and would not put the subject in the upper left corner. Ha ha!
I would like to have creatures like that in my garden.. it looks like a Star Wars set in miniature !
Most likely if you look closely, you will find someone interesting in your garden!:)
of course, but not like the beautiful array of aliens there ! I have the jumping spiders but I don't know how to make them stay still.. perhaps I need to find something they're fascinated by.. probably a very small mirror would do it "!
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We used to lightly tickle the sides of the larvae's home to make it come out as kids. I had no idea they grew up to be! Amazing!