Giant ant lion

Giant ant lions were a monstrous variety of the insects of the same name.

Description
Descriptions of these creatures varied. Some said they resembled giant dragonflies, with larval forms that were the size of a warhorse and looked like fat-bodied louses. Others would say that they looked like a cross between a mole and a giant ant.

Their bodies were gray or sandy brown in color, completely covered by a leather exoskeleton with patches of coarse black bristles. These bristles were sensitive to both movement and odors. They had six, thick legs with sharp claws and flat bristles - they used these for digging and brushing away loose soil respectively. Their eyes were deep-set and beady.

The most prominent feature of these creatures were their enormous mandibles, extending from the mouth and its rows of jagged teeth. These mandibles were silvery gray and razor-edged, with a single barb centered on the inner ridge that they used to impale and hold prey.

Abilities
The bites of these creatures had a paralytic poison.

Combat
Rather than stalking or hunting prey, these creatures dug deep tapering pits that measured in diameter. They did this by digging backwards, hurling the loose soil out in circles. They then got within these pits and buried themselves under a covering of loose gravel, sand, soil, or stones. Then waited for prey to fall into their pit. Sometimes their mandibles protruded from this covering. They were skilled at knocking down any prey that tried to climb their way out of these pits, sometimes throwing loose soil at them.

Once a giant ant lion had prey grasped in its mandibles, they would not let go until either one of them was dead. They would impale prey with their mandible barbs, crush them with their mandibles, and grind their mandibles back and forth in a sawing motion.

History
In 1362 DR, giant ant lions could be found in various parts of the city of Kuo Meilan.

Ecology
Giant ant lions mated once per year during the mid-summer season. When females entered their mating cycle they released aromatic secretions, detectable only by the males of the species, and would continue to do so until a male entered their lair. Once a male entered their lair, the pair engaged in a mating ritual in which they clicked their mandibles at each other over a period of three full days. This clicking put them in a trance-like state, keeping them from eating and sleeping. Once the ritual ceased, the pair would mate and the male would leave the nest.

Females of the species typically laid one to four eggs in the week following mating, which they buried in the ground. These eggs hatched after six months, which newborns immediately burrowing away to construct lairs of their own. These creatures spent a long portion of their lives within a larval state.

Diet
Giant ant lions were a carnivorous species. They were liable to devour any creature that fell into their pits, though they had a preference for giant insects. Typically eating one or more giant insects per day, particularly giant ants.

Habitats
These giant insects were typically found in the hills, mountains, plains, badlands, or desert fringes of regions with temperate or tropical climates. Often in areas where other giant insects lived.

On the continent of Faerûn, giant ant lions could be found in the Marching Mountains of Calimshan.

In the Hordelands, these creatures could be found in the country of Ra-Khati. In the neighboring region of Kara-Tur, they could be found in tropical and subtropical deserts. Further south, they could be found in the badlands, hills, plains, and mountains of Zakhara. In the sea that enclosed that continent, the Crowded Sea, giant ant lions could be found on Nada al-Hazan. Across the sea they could be found in the plains of the continent of Maztica.

Lairs
The lair of a giant ant lion consisted of their pit trap and a narrow passage leading away from it. This led to a large chamber, where the giant ant lion would sleep and eat their prey. These chambers had another passage that lead to the surface, which they used as either an escape route or to drop the remnants of their prey outside.

Usages
The bodies of giant ant lions largely had no commercial value, though some primitive cultures repurposed their mandibles into plows.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Black Courser • Dungeon #34, "On Wings of Darkness" • Dungeon #40, "Khamsa's Folly • Dungeon #63, "Blood and Fire"