No, I don't mean teachers. 'Cikgu' in this case is a weird larvae of an insect found in loose sand underneath many houses in Kemaman when I was a kid.
They are little creatures that look like something out of science fiction horror movie. This creature makes funnel-shaped, crater-like pits in soft sand, and then waits patiently at the bottom of the pit to ambush any hapless passers-by that is unfortunate enough to fall in.
It is commonly called antlion, referring to its habit of preying on crawling insects mainly ants.
If it is 100 times larger, they would be formidable threat to even us!
Now you remember what a Chikgu is?
They are actually the larval stages of an unusual insect called Neuroptera - 'nervous-winged' insects. They undergo a complete metamorphosis, from an egg, larva, pupa and winged adult.
If you still can't imagine what creature it is, please go to any house that is situated on bris soil and try look under the house. You are sure to find many funnel-shaped pits. Try drop something small in them pits and you will surrely see something coming out of the sand. it is the cikgu that I have described.
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2 comments:
Sounds like quite the creature.
Thank you for your wise words that you left me on my blog.
Ah, CikGu. We called them Cik Ru, and they have been called both ant lion and lion ant. Perhaps that's why they walk sideways.
I used to catch them in the sandy sand among the wooden stilts of our school.
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