Adults are roughly 30–40 mm long including the wings; larvae are much shorter and broad-bodied.
Fine-art photographic collection
Myrmeleon inconspicuus
A larva that engineers an avalanche trap, reads footsteps through sand and bombards prey with thrown grains.
About this species
Antlion
Myrmeleon inconspicuusRambur, 1842
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Myrmeleon inconspicuus is a European antlion whose larvae live in loose dry sand. Each larva constructs a conical pit and waits buried at the bottom, while the delicate winged adult lives above ground.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Neuroptera · Myrmeleontidae · Myrmeleon
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Southern Europe, North Africa and parts of western AsiaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Southern Europe, North Africa and parts of western Asia
Dry sandy ground protected from rain, including dunes, overhangs and sheltered banks.
Larvae hunt continuously from pits; adults are mainly crepuscular or nocturnal in summer.
Larvae consume ants and other small arthropods; adults take small insects or nectar depending on opportunity.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
The larva walks backwards in circles while flicking sand with its head, excavating a funnel whose walls sit at the angle of collapse.
It detects the direction of an insect from vibrations travelling through individual sand grains, then throws a barrage that knocks the victim back into the pit.
Once the jaws close, venom and digestive enzymes are injected through hollow channels; the liquefied prey is sucked out, leaving an empty shell that is catapulted from the trap.
Sources and scientific references
More photographs
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