The ant lion uses fine grains of sand, which hold together to form a steep slope and are likely to slide when touched. When an insect falls into the pit and struggles to escape, the ant lion quickly responds by flicking sand grains. These bombard the prey and cause more sand to slide to the bottom of the pit, sweeping the prey down with it. Digestive juices and a toxin are then injected into the prey's body, liquefying everything but the exoskeleton . After sucking the liquid meal up through its jaws, the ant lion tosses the exoskeleton from the pit.
Ant lions have predators, too.
Parasitic wasps and flies often lay eggs on ant lions. Once the eggs of the parasitic wasp hatch, their larvae consume the ant lion. When the ant lion larva reaches full size, it pupates within a small ball of sand and silk just under the surface at the bottom of its pit. The pupa is very well camouflaged and difficult to find. When ant lions die or pupate , their pits become messy or disappear.