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Antlions & Owlflies of Zihuatanejo

FAMILY MYRMELEONTIDAE

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Antlions, Lacewings, and Allies (Order Neuroptera)

-Antlions, Owlflies, and Allies (Suborder Myrmeleontiformia)

-Antlions, Owlflies, and Allies (Superfamily Myrmeleontoidea)

-Antlions and Owlflies (Family Myrmeleontidae)

-Subfamily Nemoleontinae

-Tribe Glenurini

-Picture-winged Antlions (Genus Glenurus)

-Glenurus luniger

-Western Picture-winged Antlion (Glenurus luniger)


Glenurus is a genus of antlions in the family Myrmeleontidae. The larvae are elongated and have large, sickle-shaped mandibles that they use for capturing prey. Adult Glenurus luniger have distinctive wings with a unique pattern, often described as having a "picture-winged" appearance. Their wings are membranous with intricate vein patterns, and they possess a slender body that can range in length. The larvae are best known for their unique behaviour of digging conical pits in sandy soils. These pits serve as traps for unsuspecting prey, primarily ants and other small insects. Once an insect falls into the pit, the larva uses its large mandibles to seize and consume it.

Western Picture-winged Antlion
Glenurus luniger

Diet

  • Larvae: Predatory, feeding on ants, beetles, termites, and other small arthropods captured in leaf litter, beneath loose bark, or in decaying wood. Unlike the familiar pit-building antlions, Glenurus larvae do not construct sand traps; they actively stalk or ambush their prey.

  • Adults: Feed on small flying insects, including flies, moths, mosquitoes, and other soft-bodied insects captured during flight.

Range

  • Found from Mexico through Central America into northern South America.

  • In Mexico, it occurs along both the Pacific and Gulf slopes, including Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

  • Most common in tropical and subtropical lowland forests.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical semi-deciduous forests, tropical rainforests, woodland edges, and secondary forests.

  • Adults are usually found resting on tree trunks, branches, rock faces, and vegetation, where their cryptic wing pattern provides excellent camouflage.

  • Larvae live beneath loose bark, in leaf litter, or among decaying wood and other sheltered microhabitats.

Size

  • Body length: 25–35 mm (1.0–1.4 in)

  • Wingspan: 60–85 mm (2.4–3.3 in)

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