Ant Cricket vs Oak Bark Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Ant Cricket Oak Bark Borer
Scientific Name Myrmecophilus acervorum Scolytus intricatus
Order Orthoptera Coleoptera
Family Gryllidae Curculionidae (Scolytinae)
Size 2-3 mm 2.5–3.5 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Parasites Wood Feeders
Regions Europe, Western Asia Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Ant Cricket

A minute, wingless cricket that lives inside ant nests as a social parasite. It is oval-shaped and moves quickly among its host ants.

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Did You Know?

It acquires its host ants' cuticular hydrocarbons to smell like them, allowing it to live undetected inside their colony.

Oak Bark Borer

A small bark beetle that attacks oaks across Europe. It breeds in weakened or recently dead branches and trunks.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the few Scolytus species that specializes exclusively on oak rather than elm.