Beneath the sand: Microbiota composition across instars of two co‐occurring antlion species

Abstract Soil‐dwelling invertebrates shape belowground microbial communities through feeding, movement and organic inputs, yet the microbiota of many taxa remain poorly characterized. Antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae), sedentary predators of sandy habitats, are ecologically important but microbiologically understudied. A comprehensive analysis of larval‐associated bacterial communities in two widespread species, Myrmeleon bore (Tjeder, 1941) and Euroleon nostras (Fourcroy & Geoffroy, 1785) across developmental stages was performed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. M. bore , which inhabits more thermally variable, open habitats, exhibited slightly higher microbial diversity and more pronounced ontogenetic shifts than E . nostras . This suggests that environmental input also has some impact on the microbial composition of antlion larvae. Some of the detected taxa, including Serratia , Lactococcus or Enterococcus, are common in antlions or other soil invertebrates and may contribute to nutrient cycling, though their functional roles in antlions remain speculative. We propose that antlion larvae represent a promising model for investigating microbiota assembly in arid, low‐nutrient habitats and emphasize the need for longitudinal and functional studies to resolve microbial roles in these insects.