Scentless Plant Bug vs Ant Cricket

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Scentless Plant Bug Ant Cricket
Scientific Name Jadera haematoloma Myrmecophilus acervorum
Order Hemiptera Orthoptera
Family Rhopalidae Gryllidae
Size 10-14 mm 2-3 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Seed Feeders Parasites
Regions Southern United States, Central America, South America Europe, Western Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Scentless Plant Bug

A red-eyed black and red bug that forms enormous aggregations on golden rain trees and other soapberry family plants. Despite its common name, it belongs to the scentless plant bug family. It is completely harmless to humans and structures.

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Did You Know?

Populations feeding on different host plants have evolved different beak lengths matched to seed size, providing a textbook example of rapid natural selection.

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.