Doodlebugs!

We've been hitting record temperatures here. . . 107 yesterday, so staying in where it's cool and blogging seems like a sensible thing to do, so here's your nature lesson for the day!

Before we left the ranch here we had worked long an hard at battling fire ants, and I even posted on this blog about them.

After arriving here a few days ago I began noticing these little cone or funnel shaped dents all over the place, especially in the soft soil and I was afraid this was something similar.
Judging by the numbers, I wasn't looking forward to having to do something about them. 'Turns out they are my best buddies in the war against ants!!

Antlions are the larva stage of lacewings, which are sort of miniature dragonflies. The funnel shape is a sort of trap. When the doodlebug/ant lion senses a small insect in the funnel, it pitches dust up and the falling dust drags the hapless insect down to the antlion's jaws. Here's a short video snowing the 'lion in action (proof somebody else is fascinated by these strange things!) These little guys probably won't consume a large enough number of fire ants to endanger the species, but any reduction in numbers is welcome!

Here's one Texan's version of how the common name came about.  I found this comment from someone up in Austin on a bulletin board discussing garden insects. "Take a broom straw and when the cone is being made, insert the straw, twisting it slightly into the bottom of the cone. If you 'doodle around' long enough, the bug will latch onto the straw and you can ease him to the surface and get a look at him." I tried it with no success, but then it was 107 degrees outside at the time, so maybe the antlion was smarter than I am and decided to stay in where it was cool.

This morning the dogs and I were out poking around in the yard when I noticed activity in some of the holes, so I tried "doodling" with a straw again - still no luck. Then I grabbed a teaspoon and dug quickly in one that looked active. Bingo! This isn't a great pic, but you get the idea. They're creepy looking little things, even if they are less than 1/2 inch long.

Now that this mystery is solved I can go back to battling the weeds!