Antlion (ahnt-lie-awn)

Antlion

Antlions were the most common insect on Fabella. Colonies had one queen and one king, all the workers were female, and male drones needed to challenge their father for control of the colony as the king. Antlions could carry 30 – 50 times their body weight. If enough banded together, they could even move a sleeping centaur.  Antlions had metapleural glands, and six legs. Their bodies could be split up into three sections; the head, the thorax, and abdomen; where all the vital organs were housed. Their strong exoskeletons make them very durable. If eaten whole by another animal, they could actually survive the whole journey through the digestive tract.

Colonies could be found spread throughout the warmer temperate zones of Fabella. There were various species of antlions spread around the world. The most common type was the Golden Antlion. There were also Red-Stingers, Western Jumpers, and Sky Builders. Their colonies could either be built down in the ground or – in the case of the Sky Builder – constructed straight up in a large towering mound of dirt. Antlions could digest meat. They still ate vegetation because there weren’t many sources of meat small enough for them around. Animal carcasses were their only real meat source since there were few insects that were smaller than the average antlion. Every colony had one queen and one king. All the workers were female and there were only a few male drones born into the colony at a given time. Kings often ate eggs of drones to prevent replacement. Young antlions went through three stages. They began life in eggs, hatched as larvae, and grew to become adult antlion.