Destroyer
A group of about 2,000 species of insect whose larvae are known for digging pits to trap ants.
The antlions are a group of about 2,000 species of insect in the neuropteran family Myrmeleontidae. They are known for the predatory habits of their larvae, which mostly dig pits to trap passing ants or other prey. In North America, the larvae are sometimes referred to as doodlebugs because of the marks they leave in the sand. The adult insects are less well known due to their relatively short lifespans in comparison with the larvae. Adults, sometimes known as antlion lacewings, mostly fly at dusk or just after dark and may be mistakenly identified as dragonflies or damselflies.
- Role
- Predatory insect larva
- Affiliation
- Family Myrmeleontidae
- Summon item
- Not applicable
- Spawn condition
- Dry and sandy habitats worldwide
- Weakness
- Not specified
- Status
- Active
背景と経緯
The exact meaning of the name "antlion" is uncertain. It has been thought to refer to ants forming a large percentage of the prey of the insect, the suffix "lion" merely suggesting "destroyer" or "hunter". In any case, the term seems to go back to classical antiquity. The antlion larva is often called a "doodlebug" in North America because of the odd winding, spiralling trails it leaves in the sand while relocating, which look as if someone has been doodling. The scientific name of the type genus Myrmeleon – and thus, the family as a whole – is presumably derived from Ancient Greek μύρμηξ (múrmex), meaning "ant" λέων (léon), meaning "lion", in a loan translation of the names common across Europe. In most European and Middle Eastern languages, at least the larvae are known under the local term corresponding to "antlion".
読者ガイド
Antlion larvae eat small arthropods – mainly ants – while the adults of some species eat pollen and nectar, and others are predators of small arthropods. In certain species of Myrmeleontidae, such as Dendroleon pantherinus, the larva, although resembling that of Myrmeleon structurally, makes no pitfall trap, but hides in detritus in a hole in a tree and seizes passing prey. In Japan, Gatzara jezoensis larvae lurk on the surface of rocks for several years while awaiting prey; during this time they often become coated with lichen, and have been recorded at densities of up to 344 per square metre. The larva is a voracious predator. Within a few minutes of seizing its prey with its jaws and injecting it with venom and enzymes, it begins to suck out the digestion products. The larva is extremely sensitive to ground vibrations, the low-frequency sounds made by an insect crawling across the ground; the larva locates the source of the vibrations by the differences in timing of the arrival of waves detected by receptors, tufts of hairs on the sides of the two hindmost thoracic segments. Funnel-shaped pits are built by members of just 3 antlion tribes: Myrmeleontini, Myrmecaelurini, and Nesoleontini. In these trap-building species, an average-sized larva digs a pit about 2 in (5 cm) deep and 3 in (7.5 cm) wide at the edge. When the pit is completed, the larva settles down at the bottom, buried in the soil with only the jaws projecting above the surface, often in a wide-opened position on either side of the very tip of the cone.
豆知識
- Antlion larvae are unusual among insects in lacking an anus; all metabolic waste generated during the larval stage is stored, some used to spin silk for the cocoon, and the rest voided as meconium at the end of its pupal stage.
- Antlions exhibit the greatest disparity in size between larva and adult of any type of holometabolous insect, because the adult's exoskeleton is extremely thin and flimsy with exceptionally low density.
- The African genus Palpares contains some of the largest antlion examples, with wingspans ranging from 2 to 15 cm (0.8 to 5.9 in).