Steep-walled pits shadowed in the lowering sunlight are the lairs of antlion larvae which are often referred to as doodlebugs. The larvae wait patiently, I guess, for small insects, mostly ants, to tumble into the pit to be captured and consumed as food. It may take months for the doodlebugs to catch enough food to grow to adequate size to form a cocoon from which the adult insect will arise. The adult insects have lacy wings and long thin bodies that resemble lacewings or dragonflies, but they are a separate form of insect.
Of their whole life cycle, the larvae with their pits scattered about in loose soil, are the most interesting to observe, unless, of course, you are an ant.
#doodlebug #antlion #ants #pittrap
Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings 