Ant cricket


The Myrmecophilidae or ant-loving crickets are rarely encountered relatives of mole crickets, and are obligate inquilines within ant nests. They are very small, wingless, and flattened, therefore resembling small cockroach nymphs. There are a few genera, containing fewer than 100 species. Ant Crickets are yellow, brown, or nearly black in color. They do not produce sound, and lack both wings and tympanal organs on the front tibia.

Tribes and genera

The Orthoptera Species File lists two subfamilies:

Bothriophylacinae

Auth.: Miram, 1934; distribution: northern Africa, western Asia
Auth.: Saussure, 1874; distribution: global