Talk:Antlion

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[edit] How named?

How did they get their name? They don't look like lions... --Abdull 21:56, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

They eat ants ~ Veledan • Talk + new 01:14, 10 September 2005 (UTC)

I'm sure they're named after the mythological ant-lion, which has a lion's head. I'm trying to find the article about said creature... let's see..

That story's actually so complicated that I did not put it in here yet. The German de:Ameisenlöwe has a detailed explanation on this... there is a connection, but it's not straightforward. Itseems that the chimerical "ant-lion" was invented after Ancient Greek reports of "gold-digger ants" in "India" (which meant southern Asia in general then), which in turn seem to be based on the living antlion. Dysmorodrepanis (talk) 11:31, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

-> I just came across this and I have as a child always known these to be called "Devil-Devil". It may be an Australian slang for the name, just thought I'd add it in here maybe it could be implemented into the text somehow. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.219.152.102 (talk) 18:38, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Star Wars

I can't help but wonder if the Ant Lion was the inspiration for the Sarlaac pits in Star Wars? Stovetopcookies 06:00, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

They definitely are, but I can't find a source that says that has of now KjtheDj 23:22, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

  • Here, it says on wikipedia, if you look up Sarlaac. "Astrophysicist and science-fiction author Jeanne Cavelos compares the Sarlacc to the antlion" KjtheDj 23:33, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Half-Life

Should'nt there be a mention of the Half-Life creatures? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.112.146.121 (talk) 20:05, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Because the author is English?

"The best-known European species, Myrmeleon formicarius, adults of which may be found in the late summer, occurs in many countries on the European continent, though like the rest of this group it is not indigenous in England. Strictly speaking, however, the term antlion applies to the larval form, which has been known scientifically for over two hundred years, on account of its peculiar and forbidding appearance and its skilful and unusual (though not unique) manner of entrapping prey by means of a pitfall."

Sorry, why is it significant that they are not indigenous in England? Fearwig 05:58, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

Okay, there's a link at the bottom indicating that there is some variety of ant lion in Britain--however, this does not come forth in the beginning of the article. It seems to me as though some editing has taken that bit out, leaving us with a paragraph more confusing and less informative. Fearwig 06:03, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
The para definetly seemed to be the product of an edit conflict. Didnt make sense to the flow. I've moved it up a bit. Kept the important comment about the larve refered to as antlion, but left out the english species. Couldnt find a place in the article for it. It seemed like a hanging piece of information. Maybe someone can add a section called "common species" or something --Viren 11:42, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unusual anatomical features

According to ant lion. Insects on the coast. National Trust (2006). :

Unusually the ant lion digests it food so well that almost no solid waste is generated, so there is no need for an anus.

Should this be mentioned here? Or is this not specific to this one family? Uncle G 14:25, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Size of pit traps

"An average-sized larva digs a pit about 2 inches deep and 3 inches wide at the edge."

As someone whos been a regular visitor to a game reserve, ive seen these pits many,many times. No ways have i ever seen pits this big!! (then again, as a non american, i dont use the imperial system.) Maybe american antlions dig that deep, but ive rarely seen traps approach that size. Can someone clarify this with regard to antlions from the rest of the world?

Isn't it also better to give both imperial & metric measurements, to leave no room for confusion? (I noticed the first para gives wingspan lengths in cm. Not very encyclopedic, IMHO.)

oops,forgot to sign!:--Shado.za 10:45, 4 August 2006 (UTC)


They appear in quantity wherever conditions are right around here, and I've also never seen them this size. Maybe it's because they're usually closer together than that, so they couldn't make them that big if they tried. (I'm in North Carolina.)

[edit] Video

I have a video of an antlion digging a pit. It's not great quality, but it's good enough. Is there any interest in it? I can't upload mpgs, so it would need to be linked somehow. Any recommendations on how to do this? Email me at meqme@daughqtersoftireqsias.org (remove qs to despammify). -- Rei 04:21, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wrong title

"Antlion" is not the standard spelling. It is "ant lion". Onelook dictionary search shows few hits for "antlion", but many for "ant lion". The OED has "ant-lion", in keeping with British hyphenated style, but not "antlion". --Milkbreath 14:43, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

"Only in America". Google hits for "antlion" are about 3 times as many as for "ant lion". Two-words is American English, one-word or hyphenated is Commonwealth English (this is a general rule-of-thumb for animal names). Dysmorodrepanis (talk) 11:26, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Photos

The image currently up top in the infobox (Image:Antlion.jpg) is a beautiful photo, and wonderfully illustrates the adult ant lion's ability to blend in with its surroundings. Unfortunately, at reduced size, it's really hard to tell what I'm looking at. I suggest this one (Image:Ameisenjungfer.jpg) instead, with more contrast. --Reuben 19:07, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dangerous?

I don't think I'm alone when I look at the antlion and wonder how bad it could hurt me. Let's face it, it's something of an evil looking insect with very large jaws (the larval form, anyway). do they bite humans? do they defend their holes or themselves from humans? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.215.112.58 (talk) 13:32, 2 April 2008 (UTC)


I used to play with them when I was a little kid. I would throw small insects into the pit and watch the antlion gobble them up. I never got hurt. - Buddy.

[edit] distribution of antlion

== [['where is antlion is from ? we can find antlion in the dry places and under the shelterand from wind and rain and also in america and africa.]] == —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.148.15.78 (talk) 12:30, 22 May 2008 (UTC)