ENY 3005 Family Identification

Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae

Common name: antlions

Identifying characteristics for the family Myrmeleontidae include:

• Clavate antennae, about as long as the combined length of the head and thorax.
• 4 similarly-shaped wings with a long hypostigmatic cell in the apical region (no other family of insects has this feature).
• The closely related owlflies, family Ascalaphidae, have very long knobbed antennae, large bulging eyes, and a short hypostigmatic cell.

• There are 22 species in 9 genera in Florida; 89 species occur in North America, more than any other family of Neuroptera.
• There are three subfamilies in North America. The Dendroleontinae and Myrmeleontinae are widespread while the Acanthoclisinae occur only in the West.
• Larvae of the Myrmeliontinae, known as antlions and doodlebugs, dwell at the bottom of conical pits constructed in sandy soil. They feed on ants and other insects that blunder into the pits.

References:

• Pages 144 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Page 366 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Page 245 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
• Page 452 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.

Links to other web sites

• NeuroWeb - Neuropterists Home Page
• Antlion Pit: A Doodlebug Anthology -- biological and other information on myrmeleontid larvae
• Family Myrmeleontidae (Antlions)