Cricket Strepsipteran vs Macedonian Grayling

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cricket Strepsipteran Macedonian Grayling
Scientific Name Caenocholax fenyesi Pseudochazara cingovskii
Order Strepsiptera Lepidoptera
Family Myrmecolacidae Nymphalidae
Size 1.5-3.0 mm (males) 4-5 cm wingspan
Habitat Underground Underground
Diet Parasites Herbivores
Regions North America, Central America North Macedonia
Conservation Not Evaluated Critically Endangered

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.

Macedonian Grayling

A rare grayling butterfly found only on a few limestone hillsides in North Macedonia. It flies low over rocky ground in midsummer.

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Did You Know?

Its total known range covers less than 10 square kilometers of stony hillside.