Antlion Pit: Antlion Resources on the World Wide Web

General information and photos

Antlions: Denizens of the Sand! (Wayne Armstrong, Life Sciences Dept., Palomar College, USA). A very thorough primer on antlion biology. Includes several excellent photographs of antlion larvae, pupae and adults.
Antlions: The good, the odd, the ugly (Barb Ogg, University of Nebraska Cooperative Extenstion in Lancaster County, USA). Description of antlion behavior and habitat.

Antlion larva.

Discovering Life: Antlions (Peter Macinnis, AUSTRALIA). Includes instructions for capturing and feeding antlion larvae.
Familia Myrmeleonidae (Hormigas león) (Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, COSTA RICA). Description of antlion anatomy, behavior and distribution. Includes information on Central and South American species. Website in Spanish.
Family Myrmeleontidae - Antlions (BugGuide.Net, Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, USA). Photos and information related to North American antlion species, including taxonomy and distribution. You can submit your antlion photos to this site for species identification help.
Lions and Tigers in the Sand () (Michigan Entomological Society, USA). Drawings and descriptions of antlions and tiger beetles.
Myrmeleontidae (Tree of Life Web Project, University of Arizona, USA). Photos of larval and adult antlions.

Antlion taxonomy and distribution

The Antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) of South Africa (Mervyn W. Mansell, Biosystematics Division, Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Council, SOUTH AFRICA). Comprehensive listing of southern African antlion species.
CAS Entomology Types Collection Database: Myrmeleontidae (California Academy of Sciences). List of different antlion species in the Academy's collection.
A Checklist and Bibliography of the Megaloptera and Neuroptera of Florida (Lionel Stange, The Museum of Entomology, Florida State Collection of Arthropods, USA). Includes descriptions and distribution information about Florida antlions.
Family Myrmeleontidae - Antlions (BugGuide.Net, Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, USA). Photos and information related to North American antlion species, including taxonomy and distribution. You can submit your antlion photos to this site for species identification help.
Lacewing Digital Library (created and maintained by Dr. John Oswald, Dept. of Entomology, Texas A&M Univ., USA). This web portal provides access to "digital information pertaining to the lacewings, antlions, fishflies, snakeflies and related insects of the superorder Neuropterida (orders Neuroptera, Megaloptera, Raphidioptera and Glosselytrodea)." Subsites include: Bibliography of the Neuropterida, Neuropterida Species of the World, and World Neuropterida Metakey.
Myrmeleontidae (Markku Savela, FINLAND). Finnish antlion species list.
The Neuroptera (Gordon Ramel, The Wonderful World of Insects, UK). Description of the order Neuroptera, including Megaloptera.
Neuroptera: Lacewings / Antlions / Dobsonflies / Alderflies / Snakeflies (Dept. of Entomology, North Carolina State University, USA). Thorough description of the order Neuroptera, with illustrations.

Professional organizations and resources

Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Museum of Entomology (Division of Plant Industry, USA). Holds a large collection of Myrmeleontidae (antlion) specimens.
Journal of Neuropterology (International Association for Neuropterology, Departamento de Biología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, SPAIN). A new Neuropteran journal (as of 1998) edited by Victor J. Monserrat. Update 2016: The Journal appears to be no longer published.
Neuroptera.com (International Association for Neuropterology (IAN)). Web portal that supports the study of insects in the Neuropterida group (i.e., Megaloptera, Raphidioptera, and Neuroptera). Neuroptera.com maintains an online forum where readers can exchange information related to insects in the Orders Neuroptera (e.g. lacewings, alder flies, snake flies, mantis flies, antlions) and Mecoptera (e.g. scorpion flies, hang flies). An e-mail account is required to subscribe. Update 2016: This resource is no longer maintained.

Antlion scholars

Nicholas J. Gotelli (Assistant Professor of Biology, Univ. of Vermont, USA). Research interests include organization of animal and plant communities, in particular antlion competition and predation.
Mervyn W. Mansell (Professor, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA). Dr. Mansell has been studying Afrotropical antlions and other lacewings, especially systematics and biology, for over 20 years. He created the website The Antlions and Lacewings (Neuroptera) of South Africa.
John D. Oswald (Professor, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, USA). Dr. Oswald is the curator of TAMU Insect Collection. He created and maintains the Lacewing Digital Library and related resources. Research interests include the higher phylogeny of the superfamily Myrmeleontoidea.
Ofer Ovadia (Professor, Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel). Dr. Ovadia's projects include a study of the consequences of variation in morphological and life history traits among Myrmeleontid individuals on their population demography.
Lionel A. Stange (Emeritus Entomologist and Curator of Neuroptera, Museum of Entomology & Florida State Collection of Arthropods (Gainesville), USA). One of the world's leading antlion experts, Dr. Stange is the author of A Systematic Catalog, Bibliography and Classification of World Antlions (2004), a major revision of the taxonomy of antlions of the Western Hemisphere. Update: Dr. Stange died in 2020.

Teacher resources

Ant Lion Lesson Plan (), by Lynn Royce, Rebecca Currin and Triffid Fry (Rural Science Education Program, Oregon State University, USA). Lesson plan designed for school grades 3–8.
Ant Lions and Biology (), by Brad Williamson (USA). Teaching strategies for the high school biology classroom.
Antlion Pits in Open Sand or Under Leaf Cover (Science Buddies, USA). An antlion research project plan suitable for middle school science fair projects.
Ask the Antlion by Jack Petersen (Florida A & M University, USA). Lesson plan designed for middle school students.
Discovering Florida Scrub: A Guide to Exploring Science in a Native Ecosystem () by Nancy D. Deyrup and Charlotte B. Wilson (Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, Florida, USA). This guide provides a curriculum designed to give teachers and students of grades 3–5 a deeper understanding of science and a greater appreciation of the Florida scrub. Includes a section called, "Ant Lions: The Hairy Predator from Down Under," an excellent introduction to antlion biology and behavior (with an activity plan for teachers).
The Naturalist's Apprentice: Traps and Snares (Illinois Natural History Survey, USA). Educational program includes section on antlions.

Related sites

California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, USA). Renowned scientific and educational institution dedicated to exploring, explaining, and sustaining life on Earth.
Gillette Entomology Club (Colorado State University, USA). "Serves to provide open avenues for interdisciplinary communication, education, and enthusiasm among all people interested in insects and their relatives."
International Society for Environmental Ethics (ISEE). Founded in 1990, the ISEE is a professional organization that strives to "advance research and education in the field of environmental ethics and philosophy, and to promote appropriate human use, respect, conservation, preservation, and understanding of the natural world."
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) North America (Berkeley, California, USA). Part of PAN International, a global network of consumer, labor, health, environment and agriculture groups working to "challenge the global proliferation of pesticides, defend basic rights to health and environmental quality, and work to ensure the transition to a just and viable food system."
Tree of Life (University of Arizona, USA). "An Internet project designed to contain information about the phylogenetic relationships and characteristics of organisms, to illustrate the diversity and unity of living organisms, and to link biological information available on the Internet in the form of a phylogenetic navigator." See how the antlion order Neuroptera fits into this phylogeny.