antlion

Plural: antlions

Noun

• A predatory insect whose larva digs a pit to trap ants.
• the larva of any of several insects
• winged insect resembling a dragonfly; the larvae (doodlebugs) dig conical pits where they wait to catch e.g. ants
• Any of various species of insects, many of them nocturnal, in the family Myrmeleontidae. The adults superficially resemble the unrelated damselflies. The larvae bury themselves in sand below a cone-shaped pit in which they trap insects such as ants.

Examples

• He felt like an antlion, patiently setting a trap for his opponent’s bingo.

Synonyms

ant lion, antlion fly, doodlebug

Related Words

archaeognathan, beetle, blattodean, booklice, butterflies and moth, caddis flies, cockroach and termite, coleopteran, damselflies and dragonflies, dermapteran, dipteran, earwig, embiopteran, ephemeropteran, flea, flies, grylloblattodean, hemipteran, hymenopteran, ice crawler, jumping bristletail, lepidopteran, mantis, mantodean, mantophasmid, mayflies, mecopteran, megalopteran, neuropteran, odonatan, orthopteran, phasmatodean, plecopteran, psocodean, raphidiopteran, scorpionflies, silverfish, siphonapteran, snakeflies, stick insect, stoneflies, strepsipteran, thrips, thysanopteran, trichopteran, true bug, webspinner, zorapteran, zygentoman