Sweat Bee Stylops vs Ant Strepsipteran

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Sweat Bee Stylops Ant Strepsipteran
Scientific Name Stylops nevinsoni Myrmecolax incautus
Order Strepsiptera Strepsiptera
Family Stylopidae Myrmecolacidae
Size 2.0-3.0 mm (males) 2-4 mm (males)
Habitat Underground Underground
Diet Parasites Parasites
Regions Europe South America, Neotropics
Conservation Not Evaluated Data Deficient

Sweat Bee Stylops

A strepsipteran endoparasite of Andrena bees in the British Isles. Parasitized bees emerge earlier than unparasitized individuals.

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Did You Know?

Infected bees emerge from hibernation earlier in spring, which helps the strepsipteran synchronize its mating season.

Ant Strepsipteran

A remarkable strepsipteran that parasitizes ants. Males parasitize ants while females parasitize crickets or grasshoppers, a unique life history involving two different host orders.

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Did You Know?

The two sexes parasitize hosts from completely different insect orders, a phenomenon found nowhere else in the animal kingdom.