Cricket Strepsipteran vs Halictid Bee Strepsipteran

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cricket Strepsipteran Halictid Bee Strepsipteran
Scientific Name Caenocholax fenyesi Halictophagus silwoodensis
Order Strepsiptera Strepsiptera
Family Myrmecolacidae Halictophagidae
Size 1.5-3.0 mm (males) 1.0-1.5 mm (males)
Habitat Underground Meadows
Diet Parasites Parasites
Regions North America, Central America Europe
Conservation Not Evaluated Not Evaluated

Cricket Strepsipteran

An unusual strepsipteran whose males parasitize ants while females parasitize crickets. This dual-host system is unique among parasites.

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Did You Know?

Males and females of this species parasitize completely different insect orders, a phenomenon unique to the family Myrmecolacidae.

Halictid Bee Strepsipteran

A tiny strepsipteran parasite of leafhoppers described from Silwood Park in England. Males have the characteristic twisted hindwings of the order.

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Did You Know?

Strepsiptera means twisted wing, referring to the way the hindwings twist during flight like helicopter blades.