Pit-building
Guides
Myrmeleon carolinus
Myrmeleon carolinus is a North American antlion species in the family Myrmeleontidae. Its larvae construct conical pitfall traps in sandy substrates to capture small ground-dwelling arthropods, a behavior characteristic of the genus Myrmeleon. Laboratory studies indicate that pit size varies with feeding history and prior pit-building experience, suggesting that physiological constraints alone do not determine trap dimensions. The species was described by Banks in 1943 and is accepted as valid in current taxonomic databases.