This gigantic burrowing insect has an oversized abdomen. A terrifying set of long, hooked mandibles protrudes from its head.
CR 5
XP 1,600
N Large vermin
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft.; Perception +0
AC 19, touch 9, flat-footed 19 (+10 natural, –1 size)
hp 60 (8d8+24)
Fort +9, Ref +2, Will +2
Immune mind-affecting effects
Speed 30 ft., burrow 10 ft.
Melee bite +10 (2d8+7 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks sand trap
Str 20, Dex 11, Con 17, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 10
Base Atk +6; CMB +12 (+16 grapple); CMD 22 (30 vs. trip)
Sand Trap (Ex) A giant ant lion can create a 60-foot-diameter, 20-foot-deep pit in any sand or soft earth surface. Creating a sand trap takes 1 hour. A DC 15 Perception check allows a creature to realize such a depression in the sand is in fact a trap. Any creature that steps into the trap slides to the center if it fails a DC 14 Reflex save—such victims take no damage, but they do fall prone. A giant ant lion can make an attack of opportunity against any creature that falls to the bottom of its sand trap. These creatures can move across sand traps at their normal speed and are immune to the trap’s effects. Other creatures can navigate the trap’s walls with a DC 20 Climb check. The save DC is Dexterity-based.
Perils of the desert depths, giant ant lions construct traps from the shifting sands. These beasts lurk at the base of these pits, half buried and patiently awaiting unwary prey.
Ant Lion, Giant Adult
This spindly insect, borne aloft on four delicate wings, snaps its mandibles in obvious hunger.
AC 19, touch 11, flat-footed 16 (+8 natural, +3 Dex, –2 size)
hp 85 (10d8+40)
Fort +11, Ref +6, Will +3
Immune mind-affecting effects
Str 24, Dex 16, Con 19, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 10
Base Atk +7; CMB +16; CMD 29 (37 vs. trip)
Skills Fly +3
Environment warm deserts
Organization solitary or cloud (2–12)
Treasure none
When a giant ant lion reaches maturity, it creates a cocoon of sand and dirt around itself. Over the course of a month, the ant lion undergoes a dramatic metamorphosis—when it emerges, its body has become elongated and thin and it has gained a set of enormous, lacy wings. Depending on the region, giant adult ant lions are often called giant lacewings, giant damselflies, or giant spindleflies, but regardless of their regional name, they remain ravenous and deadly, replacing the sand trap cunning of their larval form with swift flight and greater battlefield mobility.