Animal Traps and Lairs

Animal Traps and Lairs — page 1 — Built to Hunt Animals are engineered by nature to survive in their environments They have adaptations or features that help them compete with other living things for food DID YOU KNOW An anglerﬁsh has a long spine that hangs above its mouth The tip glows in the dark This light lures prey toward the ﬁsh’s sharp teeth 4

Animal Traps and Lairs — page 2 — Animals design and build traps and lairs to catch prey Some build physical traps like holes in the ground or sticky webs Others use trapping behaviors These lure prey toward them or confuse an animal long enough to grab it Some animals even use hidden lairs to ambush their prey The anglerﬁsh got its name because it has a lure like an angler’s ﬁshing pole FAST FACT light lure 5

Animal Traps and Lairs — page 3 — Ant Lion Sand Pit An ant lion larva builds its trap in sand It starts walking backward in a circle As it walks it digs This creates a cone-shaped pit to trap ants DID YOU KNOW The larvae of ant lions are known as doodlebugs This is because the trails they leave behind look like doodles drawn by people mandible 6

Animal Traps and Lairs — page 4 — The larva hides at the bottom Only its mandibles rest above the sand When ants fall in a well-designed pit guides them toward its mouth Some lucky ants survive the fall As they climb out the larva throws sand at them This causes a landslide carrying the ants back toward the larva’s jaws If the pit walls are too steep sand trickles in Then the trap collapses If they are too shallow ants will not fall in FAST FACT sand trap 7

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