antlion

/ ˈæntˌlaɪən /

noun

1. Also called: antlion fly. any of various neuropterous insects of the family Myrmeleontidae, which typically resemble dragonflies and are most common in tropical regions

2. Also called (US): doodlebug. the larva of this insect, which has very large jaws and buries itself in the sand to await its prey

Example Sentences

Except that this bug, with its nearly two-inch wingspan, was way too big to be an antlion.

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In their scenario — based on the marginal value theorem, often used in ecology to model foraging behavior — the bird visits a patch of antlion pits and pecks the larvae out, but sometimes drops them.

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The team placed single trap-jaw ants into plastic cups filled with 4 cm of sand and a 1-cm-long burrowing insect with large jaws—known as an antlion—at the bottom.

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To test this idea, the two biologists and their colleague Alan Worley simulated a hypothetical antlion community menaced by a bird.

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If the downtime of a given antlion larva was predictable, predators “could perhaps learn some patterns,” Dr. Sendova-Franks said.

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