An antlion is a small insect whose larva (baby form) digs a cone-shaped pit in sandy soil to trap ants and other insects. The larva buries itself at the bottom of this pit and waits. When an ant wanders too close to the edge, the sand gives way and the ant tumbles down the slippery slopes straight into the antlion's powerful jaws.

The trap is cleverly designed: the sides of the pit are too steep and sandy for an ant to climb back out. If an ant tries to escape, the antlion larva tosses sand at it, causing mini-avalanches that knock the ant back down. The larva looks fierce and prehistoric, with a flat body and huge curved jaws like pincers.

After spending up to three years as a hungry trap-builder, the antlion larva transforms into a delicate flying adult that looks somewhat like a dragonfly, with long wings and a thin body. The adult form lives only a few weeks. Despite their dramatic name, many adult antlions are gentle creatures that don't hunt in the same way.

You can find antlion pits in dry, sandy areas under building overhangs or tree cover. The small cone-shaped craters, often clustered together, look like miniature meteor impact sites. Watch closely and you might spot an ant discovering why these insects earned their fierce name.