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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Antlions, Lacewings and Allies (Neuroptera) » Antlions (Myrmeleontidae) » Myrmeleon » larvae (Myrmeleon larvae)
Photo#41528
Doodlebugs - Myrmeleon
Copyright © 2006 Steve Scott

Doodlebugs - Myrmeleon
Avon Park, Highland County, Florida, USA
January 22, 2006
Size: 3 mm
Now I know why they're called that. I had only seen the pits before.

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Doodlebugs - Myrmeleon Doodlebugs - Myrmeleon Doodlebugs to the pits - Myrmeleon
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Contributed by Steve Scott on 24 January, 2006 - 12:35am
Last updated 12 April, 2009 - 4:41pm

Moved
Moved from Myrmeleon.
… v belov, 12 April, 2009 - 4:41pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Antlions.
… john and jane balaban, 18 August, 2006 - 5:19pm login or register to post comments

Great discovery, Steve.
I'm armed with the correct answer now if someone ever asks me.
… Jim McClarin, 24 January, 2006 - 5:21am login or register to post comments

 
Myrmeleon.
In North America, only the genus Myrmeleon make the pits. If you found pits at the end of these trails, then you have your ID:-) If not, then it is some other genus, the larvae of which simply lie buried in the sand awaiting a passing victim.
… Eric R. Eaton, 24 January, 2006 - 12:17pm login or register to post comments

 
Trails
If there's no pit at the end of the trail, there's also a chance a typical pit-making antlion is pupating. If this is the case, at the end of the trail there'll be, hidden in the sand, a spherical ball of sand and silk.
… Hillery, 23 February, 2007 - 10:11am login or register to post comments

 
To the pits . . .
At the end of the doodles the larvae begin a spiral pattern - I found several at that stage - which develops into the classic pits. I confess, however, that I didn't observe the entire process. Twenty minutes of 1 head full of sand a minute was enough excitement for my day. . . wasn't that a stilt-legged fly that just flew past?
… Steve Scott, 24 January, 2006 - 8:07pm login or register to post comments

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