Transcript

Picture yourself walking in the sand, the sun over your head, on a nice summer afternoon.

[European summer soundscape fades in]

The weather is as hot as usual in the desert. But as scorching as it might be, you still have work to do. You are an ant, and you need to bring some juicy piece of insect back to the colony! Let’s hope nothing stops you on your way back home… There’s no time to loose in this heat.

Hi and welcome to the Insect Insights, chill insect stories to relax and wonder, available wherever podcasts are. If you like this podcast, you can subscribe, leave a review and even an insect question, on spotify or on the website. I am Max, your host, and I hope you are ready to dive into insect knowledge for another insight! Just a short disclaimer, today the story might not be as chill as usual… This story is about struggle, and getting trapped.

You tread the path back home, counting your steps to find your way back home. In the open desert, without landmarks, it’s still the best way to orientate yourself, little Cataglyphis ant.

But the path is not exactly as it was before. As you lay the tip of your leg on the ground, you feel it slide away, as grains of sand start to trickle downwards. Before you can get away, you are caught in this treacherous terrain and your agitation only makes the slide faster.

Looking around, you see a large pit, maybe five centimeters wide. Looking down, you see the foe responsible for this trap: an Antlion larva. Its big mandibles are wide open, waiting for something to bite on, you.

Today, this predator is very well named, as it looks like you are going to be its meal. Impatient at this idea, the larva starts to throw sand at you, with vigorous movement of its abdomen. You start falling even faster down the sandy slope.

You are only millimeters from the jaws of the trapper. You can see it’s wide head, full of powerful mandibular muscles, attached to impressive dented fangs.

Sadly, little ant, this will be your end. And this larva will use this meal to complete its metamorphosis, trading immobile predation for gracious flying. Who could suspect an adult antlion of the viciousness it has shown as a larva?

Sources

Wittlinger, M.; Wehner, R.; Wolf, H. The Ant Odometer: Stepping on Stilts and Stumps. Science 2006, 312 (5782), 1965–1967. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1126912.

Hollis, K. L. Ants and Antlions: The Impact of Ecology, Coevolution and Learning on an Insect Predator-Prey Relationship. Behavioural Processes 2017, 139, 4–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2016.12.002.