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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids (Orthoptera) » Long-horned Orthoptera (Ensifera) » Crickets (Gryllidea) » Ant Crickets (Myrmecophilidae) » Myrmecophilus

Genus Myrmecophilus

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Identification · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References

Family Myrmecophilidae - Myrmecophilus pergandei - male

Piggy Cricket - Myrmecophilus pergandei - male

Please help identify. Pest control says it's not a roach - Myrmecophilus

Pennsylvania Arthropod for ID - Myrmecophilus pergandei - female

Myrmecophilus pergandei - Myrmecophilus pergandei - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)

Suborder Ensifera (Long-horned Orthoptera)

Infraorder Gryllidea (Crickets)

Family Myrmecophilidae (Ant Crickets)

Genus Myrmecophilus

Explanation of Names

Myrmecophilus Berthold, 1827

Numbers

5 spp. in our area, 1 introduced

Identification

M. americanus - south FL (introduced)

M. pergandei - eastern U.S.

M. oregonensis - west coast

---no image--- M. manni - western U.S.

M. nebrascensis - central and southwestern U.S.

Habitat

Inquilines in ant nests

Food

Detritus and ant waste. In captivity, they may feed on fruits, grain foods, and food molds.

Life Cycle

Eggs take about a month or more to hatch.

Remarks

Ant cricket species are associated with certain species of ants.

http://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Myrmecophilus?fbclid=IwAR0TIpkRCMRu0iEmf8mtWrGajwIhrkva4Z3NbBxjW3iSrsqlExfoBtdvWI4

Print References

Hebard M. (1920). A revision of the North American species of the genus Myrmecophila. Trans. Am. Entomol. Soc. (Phila). 46: 91-111. (Full Text)

Henderson G, Akre R.D. (1986a). Biology of the Myrmecophilous cricket, Myrmecophila manni (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). J. Kans. Entomol. Soc. 59: 454-467. (Full Text)

Henderson G, Akre R.D. (1986b). Dominance hierarchies in Myrmecophila manni (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Pan. Pac. Entomol. 62: 24-28. (Full Text)

Henderson G, Akre R.D. (1986c). Morphology of Myrmecophila manni, a myrmecophilous cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). J. Entomol. Soc. B C. 83: 57-62. (Full Text)

Wheeler W. M. (1900). The habits of Myrmecophila nebrascensis Bruner. Psyche 9:111-113. (Full Text)

Contributed by john and jane balaban on 19 June, 2007 - 2:36pm
Additional contributions by Graham M, Aaron Schusteff, Wisconsin Oecanthinancy, v belov, metrioptera, Arturo Santos
Last updated 29 January, 2024 - 9:29am

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