Lurking in the sand are creatures which have been described as 'Demons in the dust' - antlions.

This unusual creature is found breeding nowhere else in the UK and has now been found on a number of Sandlings heaths with new sites being added all the time as interest in and knowledge of this species increases.

The antlion is the larva of a member of the lacewing family Eurolean nostras. In spring they can be found in holes at the bottom of small sand cliffs, where they wait for other insects to fall into their traps.

The traps are an angled pit in soft sand, so that the least disturbance sets off an avalanche and the unsuspecting woodlice or ant slides to the bottom of the pit to meet its doom.

The antlion grabs its prey with a pair of long, spiny, pointed jaws and then injects it with poison before suckling out the liquified body contents.

By July the larvae are full-grown and spin a cocoon that looks like a sand ball. At the end of August, antlions emerge from their sandy cocoons as winged insects, a little like a dragonfly. They fly into the treetops and survive just long enough to mate and lay their eggs in the sand.

Spotting antlions
With the adult's only very brief life on the wing, the sand traps are often all that can be seen of the antlion. The population of antlions is monitored by counting these pits.

View more detailed website about antlion

This information is taken from the Sandlings Walk pack based on the research of Dr EJM Kirby. The Sandlings Walk is a 60 mile long distance footpath linking heaths between Ipswich and Southwold. It was created as part of the work supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund to safeguard the Sandlings.