The larvae of Nearctic Myrmeleon (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Myrmeleontini) with an emphasis on Texas species

The antlions (Myrmeleontidae) are most well known of their distinct behavior of constructing pitfalls to trap prey in the larval stage. Such behavior is not a common trait within the family, and only appear in 4 of 17 tribes. Of these tribes, Myrmeleontini is the only tribe that the pit-building behavior exist in all species. Due to this unique behavior, the larval stage of Myrmeleontini are much easier to collect comparing to non pit-building species. However, the larval morphology of Myrmeleontini species have not been well recorded, with only about 20% of all species described. The Myrmeleontini of the Nearctic region consist of only 12 described species, all of which belong to the genus Myrmeleon. The Nearctic Myrmeleon larvae were also not well documented, with only one identification key focusing on species from Florida. Although the larvae of 8 species have been recorded, they were well not well described, mostly only with description of the markings on the head capsule. Here, we present more information on the Nearctic Myrmeleon larvae with an emphasis on the state of Texas, providing description and clear images of 7 Myrmeleon species collected mainly in Texas.