I watched the ants building this mound and I thought it had an interesting appearance. Sorry for any confusion!
7.16.2008
Wordless Wednesday
I intended for this to be a Wordless post, but it seems to be causing some confusion among my readers. This is a picture of an ant hill, not an ant lion's trap. An ant lion larva, aka doodlebug, builds a concave trap downward into the soil with no hole visible in the center. The ant lion larva then waits until an unsuspecting critter falls into the trap.
I watched the ants building this mound and I thought it had an interesting appearance. Sorry for any confusion!
I watched the ants building this mound and I thought it had an interesting appearance. Sorry for any confusion!
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11 comments:
Hey y'all,
I've been enjoying the photos and information on your site. I miss seeing you guys, hope to see you later this year, maybe at the holidays.
Your "little nephew"
A wasp burrow? but which one? Jane
lowspeed! How's it going, Shorty? ;) Glad you're enjoying your virtual trip to the swamp.
Jane,
Good guess, but it's not a wasp burrow, it's an ant hill. Unfortunately, I have no idea which species of ant.
I used to see something like this in South Florida. As children, we called them "ant lion holes." If a foreign traveler entered the sandy bowl, the ant lion would rush out and drag it into the darkness.
susan,
We have those ant lion pitfall traps around here, too. I've watched a hapless insect wander in and be unable to climb the sides of the trap to get out. Insidious, but effective ;) This ant hill was considerably larger that an ant lion pit. It measured about 3 inches across.
According to the little "Golden Guide" the creature that makes the mound Swampy photographed is the Ant Lion (Myrmeleontidae). These creatures are found nation-wide, but especailly in the SW part of the U.S.Hope this helps.
Sorry, Uncle Bear, but it's not the work of an ant lion. It's actually an ant hill. I'll amend the post so folks will know what they are looking at :)
I'd be willing to wager that you had a substantial amount of rain within 12 hours of this construction. Ants will create these levees when they sense a strong weather change.
Watch the hill and see the different configurations it adopts over time.
Jenn/ Garden Djinn
Jenn,
Thanks for the info. I will definitely keep an eye on these guys!
It does look as if the ants are preparing for high tide. Did it rain?
marvin,
We expected rain but never got any that day.
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