Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic - John Matthews - Страница 109

In Middle Eastern lore, the Ant-Lion had the face and front body of a lion and the back parts of an ant. This beast was said to have had a carnivorous father and a vegetarian mother, but because the Ant-Lion had the tendencies of both parents, it died because there was no food that suited its condition. As a creature of two natures, it is said to be symbolic of ‘double-minded man, unstable in all his ways’. The Ant-Lion derives from a mistranslation from the Book of Job (4: 4) from the Septuagint which uses the Arabian word myrmex for ‘lion’ in the verse, ‘The old lion perishes for lack of prey.’ This was so like the Greek word for ‘ant’ that the mistranslation resulted in all kinds of speculation about this mysterious Biblical animal.

However, naturalists have identified a species of neuroptera (four-winged insects such as dragonflies and lace wings) by the name of Antlion after their extraordinary behaviour. The antlion larvae digs a pit in loose soil, lining the tunnel with fine sand so that escape is impossible. It then buries itself at the bottom of the tunnel with only its head and open jaws remaining above the surface. Any unwary prey falls into the tunnel straight into its mouth. When above the ground, antlion larvae leave trails that have helped give it the nickname of the ‘doodlebug’.