Antlion or the doodlebug are named for the rapacious ways of the larva, which trap small insects in a pit that it has dug into the ground. The Doodlebug larva digs a cone shaped pit from 2 to 5 cm deep and 3 to 8 cm wide at the edge, by using its abdomen to push and build particles on its large rectangular head and flinging them outside of the pit. After the death pit is done, the larva entombs itself so that only its jaws are seen. Once an insect slips down to the bottom of the slope, the reaping-hook like jaws of the larva grab and suck the contents of its victim. Once the antlion is done, it will toss the carcass out over the edge of the trap. The larva soon becomes a cocoon and emerges as a winged adult that never eats.
