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What the sources say

AntlionMyrmeleon formicarius

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Antlion profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 44 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Lucas 1906

Lucas (1906). On the emergence of Myrmeleon formicarius from the pupa. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London.

The page saysIts larva jerks sand out of a pit with its head
The source saysThey made typical pits several times. I saw them not infrequently throwing out sand by the backward jerk of the head.Note: tagline
The page sayswhen hungry, sucks its prey very dry.
The source saysWhen hungry, the ant-lion sucked the larva very dryNote: tagline
The page saysin Spain, dry dusty earth in a pine forest
The source saysThey were there very abundant amongst what was rather dry dusty earth — scarcely sand — in the pine forestNote: stats.habitat
The page saysIn one captive study, chiefly the caterpillars of small moths and butterflies, sucked very dry when hungry
The source saysDuring the six weeks I had them at home before passing them on to Mr. Lucas they ate a good many larvae, chiefly of small Lepidoptera. ... When hungry, the ant-lion sucked the larva very dryNote: stats.diet; larvae of Lepidoptera = caterpillars of moths and butterflies
The page saysIts larva throws sand out of its pit with a backward jerk of the head
The source saysthrowing out sand by the backward jerk of the head. This was done either in making a pit or in repairing itNote: stats.superpower
The page saysThe trapper is the larva, the young stage.
The source saysthe formidable larval mandibles are formed to serve as a trap to catch the prey in that stage
The page saysIn 1904 Dr T. A. Chapman collected larvae at La Granja in Spain, in rather dry, dusty earth (scarcely sand) in a pine forest.
The source saysNotes on the larv?e made by T. A. Chapman, M.D. ... I brought home several of these Ant-lion larva3 on Aug. 10th, 1904, having found them a week or so earlier at La Granja (Spain). They were there very abundant amongst what was rather dry dusty earth — scarcely sand — in the pine forestNote: OCR 'larva3' = larvae
The page saysThey were sometimes so crowded that eight or ten of "various sizes" shared one square foot.
The source saysThey were sometimes so abundant that a square foot was occupied by eight or ten of them of various sizes.
The page saysBack home they made typical pits, and he watched them throw out sand with a backward jerk of the head, either to dig a pit or to repair one.
The source saysThey made typical pits several times. I saw them not infrequently throwing out sand by the backward jerk of the head. This was done either in making a pit or in repairing it.Note: inside Chapman's quoted notes
The page saysChapman noted that the larva appeared always to travel backwards, and always under the sand.
The source saysThe larva appears ahvays to travel backwards, and ahvays under the sandNote: OCR 'ahvays' = always
The page saysOn the surface it was not very helpful, but it could bury itself with great rapidity.
The source saysOn the surface it is not very helpful, except that it can bury itself with great rapidity
The page saysOver six weeks in Chapman's care the larvae ate a good many larvae, chiefly those of small moths and butterflies.
The source saysDuring the six weeks I had them at home before passing them on to Mr. Lucas they ate a good many larvae, chiefly of small Lepidoptera
The page saysWhen hungry, an antlion sucked its victim so dry that only a minute shred remained.
The source saysWhen hungry, the ant-lion sucked the larva very dry, so that a minute shred only remained
The page saysChapman then passed two larvae on to W. J. Lucas.
The source saysbefore passing them on to Mr. Lucas ... One of the two could have been none the worse for its long fast
The page saysThey ate little or nothing until well into the spring of the next year, and Lucas suggested that possibly they do not feed during the winter.
The source saysPossibly they do not feed during the winter ; at any rate they ate little or nothing till well on into the spring of the next yearNote: 'until' for 'till'
The page saysOne of the two, collected in summer 1904, produced an adult of good size about midsummer 1905.
The source saysI brought home several of these Ant-lion larva3 on Aug. 10th, 1904, having found them a week or so earlier ... it produced an imago of good size about midsummer (1905)Note: imago = adult; found late July or early August = summer
The page saysThe larva's mandibles (jaws) are described as formidable, built to trap prey.
The source saysthe formidable larval mandibles are formed to serve as a trap to catch the prey in that stage
The page saysWhen Lucas's larva was ready to pupate, it made a round cocoon of sand grains cemented with a gummy material the paper calls liquid silk
The source saysa spherical cocoon consisting of grains of sand cemented together by this gummy material (liquid silk) ... Having but the one cocoon
The page saysabout nine-sixteenths of an inch across, roughly 14 millimetres.
The source saysbeing when completed about nine-sixteenths of an inch in diameterNote: 9/16 in = 14.3 mm
The page saysLucas noted that so small an insect had to produce a large adult.
The source saysso small an insect which had to produce so large an imago
The page saysThe pupa's jaws are much reduced in size and do a single job: cutting an opening in the cocoon.
The source saysThe pupal jaws are used in the insect's life for a single operation — the cutting of an opening in the cocoon. They are much reduced in size
The page saysThe adult's jaws end up quite simple.
The source saysIn the imago the mandibles have become quite simple in form
The page saystwo captive larvae were offered live red wood ants in autumn and would have none of them.
The source sayspassed on to me at the end ot September ... I supplied them with living specimens of the red ant of the fir-woods ... have none of theseNote: red ant of the fir-woods = Formica rufa, the red wood ant; end of September = autumn
The page saysTheir keeper, W. J. Lucas, wrote that they seemed unwilling to accept anything he gave them and that possibly they do not feed during the winter.
The source saysappeared un-willing to accept anything I gave them. Possibly they do not feed during the winter
The page saysBefore pupating, one ate one or two caterpillars.
The source saysBefore pupating it ate one or two caterpillars
The page saysThey avoided a caterpillar that was too large, and one they did seize could jerk itself loose or even jerk the antlion out of the sand.
The source saysIf the larva was too large, they avoided it ... the result was either that the larva jerked itself loose, or jerked the ant-lion out of the sand
The page saysA small one had no chance once it was caught.
The source saysA small larva, when once seized had no chance of escape
The page saysthe larva left gummy threads across the sand and built a round cocoon of cemented sand grains.
The source saysthreads of a gummy nature were noticed along the sand and across the box ... a spherical cocoon consisting of grains of sand cemented together
The page saysInside, the adult uses the pupa's
The source saysan operation not, however, performed by the pupa (strictly speaking) but by the imago
The page sayssmall saw-edged jaws
The source saysThey are much reduced in size, and the slender hairs are perhaps vestigial onlyNote: saw-edged from 'the saw-like edges' in the next claim
The page saysto cut an opening at the top
The source saysThe sharp points are well adapted for piercing the cocoon and the saw-like edges are equally well suited for enlarging the opening.
The page sayspushes the front of its body out and slips out of its old skin through a slit down its back.
The source saysafter making an aperture at the top of the cocoon, protrudes the fore part of its body only ... Emergence of the imago then takes place from a dorsal slit
The page saysIn a 1906 account,
The source saysTRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1906Note: year of publication; the observations are 1904-1905 in captivity
The page saysNot the larvae in a 1906 captive study.
The source saysTRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1906Note: year of publication; the observations are 1904-1905 in captivity
The page saysIn Lucas's 1906 account,
The source saysTRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1906Note: year of publication; the observations are 1904-1905 in captivity
The page saysAn antlion larva throws sand out of its pit with a backward jerk of the head
The source saysthrowing out sand by the backward jerk of the head. This was done either in making a pit or in repairing itNote: vibe.reason
The page sayscan bury itself with great rapidity
The source saysit can bury itself with great rapidityNote: vibe.reason

Source
02

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Myrmeleon formicarius Linnaeus, 1767. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

The page saysRecorded from Africa, Europe, northern Asia (not China) and southern Asia
The source saysGeographic Division: Africa Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China) Southern AsiaNote: stats.habitat
The page saysNot Evaluated
The source saysMyrmeleon formicarius Linnaeus, 1767Note: stats.conservationStatus. Anchors the species name only; the body makes no status claim. The prefetch (2026-10-11) found no Red List assessment: GBIF's copy holds no category for this name and Crossref searches under its synonyms failed with HTTP 429, so no IUCN reference is cited.
The page saysis an antlion, a member of the family Myrmeleontidae, named by Linnaeus in 1767
The source saysFamily Myrmeleontidae Latreille, 1802 - antlions ... Species Myrmeleon formicarius Linnaeus, 1767
The page saysfiles it in the order Neuroptera, alongside lacewings and mantisflies
The source saysOrder Neuroptera Linnaeus, 1758 - ant lions, lacewings, mantisflies
The page saysrecords it from Africa, Europe, northern Asia (not China) and southern Asia.
The source saysGeographic Division: Africa Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China) Southern Asia

Source
03

Baeckström et al. 1989

Baeckström et al. (1989). Structures, absolute configurations, and syntheses of volatile signals from three sympatric ant-lion species, Euroleon nostras, Grocus bore, and Myrmeleon formicarius (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae). Journal of Chemical Ecology.

The page saysA chemical study in 1989 looked at three antlion species and found the compounds nerol and 10-homonerol in M. formicarius.
The source saysNerol (2a) and 10-homonerol (2b) were found in a third species,Myrmeleon formicariusNote: abstract only; 1989 is the reference year
The page saysIts title calls such compounds volatile signals
The source saysvolatile signals from three sympatric ant-lion speciesNote: title, checked against the reference's DOI metadata; 'evaporate easily into the air' glosses volatile

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.