Missouri's lion eats ants!

About 18 months ago I bought some sand and piled about six five-gallon buckets full in a sheltered place safe from rain. I wanted to see what, if anything, might use the sand pile. Of course, a few feral house cats occasionally used the sand as a toilet, and a few toads have dug into the sand for safety and coolness from summer heat.

Recently I passed by the sand pile and saw what resembles craters of the moon. Individual craters were made by a single larva of a small native insect called the ant-lion. The craters are traps made to catch tiny crawling insects, especially ants, that fall in. The ant-lion larva hides in the sand under the bottom of the trap. As the unfortunate ant attempts to climb back out, it causes commotion that alerts the ant-lion. Soon the ant-lion moves up, grabs the ant, injects a tiny amount of paralyzing venom, pulls the ant under the sand and eats it.

The trails in the sand were made by ant-lion larvae relocating to a new place. Ant-lion larvae are sometimes called doodle-ups or doodlebugs. As a child I remember placing my mouth close to these craters and saying in a fast pace, "doodle up, doodle up, doodle up" and then watching the sand at the bottom of the crater begin to move.

Ant-lion larvae will not hurt you as you hold the small odd-looking creature in your hand. Ant-lion adults have wings and look similar to damselflies. In the adult stage this strange insect is a pollinator insect that eats nectar from flowers.

Through the Woods is a weekly nature photo column by Aaron Horrell. Find this column at semissourian.com to order a reprint of the photo. Find more work by him at the Painted Wren Gallery.