New Zealand antlion

Weeleus acutus · Order: Neuroptera · Family: Myrmeleontidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
New Zealand antlion
Photo: Auckland War Memorial Museum, CC BY

Weeleus acutus belongs to the antlion tribe Distoleontini and is the only species in its genus. It is native to New Zealand and occurs widely from Kerikeri down to Wakatipu.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It is found throughout New Zealand, from Kerikeri in the north to Wakatipu in the south.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

New Zealand antlion photo 3
Photo: Jon Sullivan, CC BY
New Zealand antlion photo 4
Photo: Jon Sullivan, CC BY

Same family (Myrmeleontidae)

Four-spotted antlionFour-spotted antlionDistoleon tetragrammicusSpotted-wing antlionSpotted-wing antlionEuroleon nostrasAnt-lionAnt-lionMyrmeleon formicariusGrand AntlionGrand AntlionPalpares libelluloidesGregarious AntlionGregarious AntlionHagenomyia tristisBanyutus lethalisBanyutus lethalisBanyutus lethalis

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeleus

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.