Digging the optimum pit: antlions, spirals and spontaneous stratification.

ABSTRACT: Most animal traps are constructed from self-secreted silk, so antlions are rare among trap builders because they use only materials found in the environment. We show how antlions exploit the properties of the substrate to produce very effective structures in the minimum amount of time. Our modelling demonstrates how antlions: (i) exploit self-stratification in granular media differentially to expose deleterious large grains at the bottom of the construction trench where they can be ejected preferentially, and (ii) minimize completion time by spiral rather than central digging. Both phenomena are confirmed by our experiments. Spiral digging saves time because it enables the antlion to eject material initially from the periphery of the pit where it is less likely to topple back into the cent

SUBMITTER: Franks NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6452065 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature