Ant Lion - Kumurska Arstany
Ant Lion - Acanthaclisis occitanicus Vill.
The ant lion is a net-winged insect, closely related to osmylids, ascalaphids, and lacewings. It has four long, pointed, almost identical net-like wings. The body is dark gray, with yellow spots on the head. The round, undivided eyes of the ant lion protrude significantly. About 10 species are known in Kyrgyzstan. Adult individuals externally resemble dragonflies, but unlike them, they fold their wings differently at rest — roof-like over their abdomen. In general, they do not like to fly at all; their flight is weak, or rather — slow and fluttering. The antennae of the ant lion are long, with a club at the end, while dragonflies have short, thin bristles.
Why does it have such a fearsome name? Its voracious larva is a terror to ants but will also not miss many other insects, spiders, and woodlice. In the larval stage, the ant lion spends three to four years before transforming into an adult insect. The larva hibernates by burrowing into the sand, and it does this in a very interesting way: it burrows into the ground with the rear end of its abdomen. The ant lion larva lives in a shallow funnel of sandy soil. It sits at the bottom and waits, lying in ambush for its prey. Only its long, sickle-shaped jaws stick out from the outside. Insects that accidentally fall into its lair are fiercely grabbed, drained, and then the inedible remains are ruthlessly thrown out of its burrow. If the victim tries to climb out of the pit, the predator begins to bombard the fugitive with grains of sand. The victim rolls down the walls of the funnel, and a sad end awaits it.
A team of physicists from several French universities has theoretically and experimentally described why only medium-weight ants get caught in the traps of the ant lion, while lighter or heavier insects more often escape from them. It turned out that the survival chances of ants depend on whether their weight is sufficient to leave a mark on the slope of the trap: very light ants do not leave marks, so the slope does not collapse, while very heavy insects leave too deep a mark, which serves as a step for them and prevents them from sliding down.
Distribution: Northern Tien Shan
Insects of Kyrgyzstan
