Antlion Cone Death Trap

The Namib Desert, one of the most exposed places on Earth.

As the sun climbs high, everybody takes cover from the extreme heat.

Everybody except the hotrod ant.

As others take refuge, their day is just beginning...

cleaning out the nest.

The sand can reach a scorching 70 centigrade.

The ants' long legs raise their bodies above the surface, where it's ten degrees cooler.

But if they stand still, they will fry.

They must keep moving or risk the same fate as their quarry,

the creatures that have collapsed from heat stroke.

Too deeply buried, but a good place to cool off.

Foraging decisions must be fast.

Too big...

Perfect.

Back to the nest before they also die.

But they've strayed into a minefield.

Each of these strange, cone-shaped pits is a death-trap...

with a brutal predator at its centre.

Here lie antlion larvae...

tiny ambush predators with venom-filled pincers.

Some ants manage to escape, but the antlion has other tricks.

Flinging sand into the air, it creates an avalanche.

In this cone of death, the walls are so angled that the sand slips beneath the ant's feet.

As boulders rain from the sky, escape seems almost impossible.

Phew!