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| frank.itlab.us |
There are a lot of these in my yard.
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| Image source: Wikipedia |
Fortunately there are a lot of these too.
Antlions, or rather antlion larva, as I learned from my research. Otherwise known to me in my childhood as doodlebugs. They are called doodlebugs because the twisty winding trails they leave in the sand while looking for the right place to make their traps look like someone doodled in the sand.
They hang out in inverted cone-shaped dwellings in loose sandy soil, and feed on ants. It is interesting to watch them "build" their traps.
When complete, they lie in wait for the unsuspecting ant to drop in for dinner...not knowing he's the meal, thus having the ant by the short hairs.
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| Image source: Wikipedia |
This is what they become.
Does this meet the criteria for today's topic? If you were the ant, what would you think?
Interesting to watch it throw the sand around. So, once they turn into the pretty flying creature what do they eat?
ReplyDeleteWow. Talk about the story of the Ugly Duckling!!!
ReplyDeleteI love to watch those guys dig in the sand. Had never seen what they turn into, though!
ReplyDeleteNot sure the ant really things much, outside of "Crap. Dinner."
ReplyDeleteOh I just LOVE Dragonflies!
ReplyDeleteYup, this one definitely counts for this theme! Well done, Linda, even though the "before" picture is really creepin' me out. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that ant has an opinion on the hair-relevance of the story, he's too busy screaming OH SHIT!
ReplyDeleteBabs- Some eat pollen and nectar and some eat other insects
ReplyDeleteNicki- Aren't they interesting looking creatures. Scary if they weren't so small.
laughingmom- I've seen them all my life, but never knew that they became anything, or why the were called doodlebugs and left those trails.
P.J.- If the ant had "short hairs" he'd know somebody had his. ;)
Meleah- I think dragonflies are neat too. However, while these look like dragonflies there is a whole paragraph explaining why they aren't. I would have thought they were, too.
Nicky- Thanks, and sorry for creeping you out.
notactuallygod- I'm glad ants can't scream!