Myrmecophilus

Abstract: Myrmecophilus ant crickets are tiny wingless ant symbionts that live in and around ant nests. Myrmecophilus crickets are kleptoparasitic on their host ants, feeding on food resources in the ant nests and inducing ants to regurgitate liquid food. Most Myrmecophilus crickets are not species-specific with respect to host ant. Here, we review all published records of M. americanus and report new records of M. americanus from the West Indies. Published site records ofM americanus come from around the world, including India, the western Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Seychelles, Reunion), northeastern Africa (Egypt, Libya, Sudan), the Middle East (Israel), Oceania (Hawaii), and the Neotropics (Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti). In all recorded cases except one, the ant host of M. americanus was the longhorn crazy ant, Paratrechina longicornis. We collected a total of 52 M. americanus specimens (23 males, 15 females, 14 juveniles) from P. longicornis nests at 13 sites on six West Indian islands: Antigua, Aruba, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, and St. Martin. We found that the number of dorsal spurs on the hind basitarsus varied among and within adult M. americanus specimens, calling into question the use of this character in distinguishing different species. Adult M. americanus resemble the gaster of P. longicornis queens in size and shape. This resemblance maybe mimicry, evolved to fool P. longicornis workers that encounter the crickets. If the association of M. americanus with P. longicornis is more species-specific than the host associations of other ant crickets, we would expect future studies to find additional species-specific adaptations that may be unique to the M. americanus - P. longicornis association.

Abstract: This is the second revision of the family Pselaphidae from South Korea treating twenty-nine species, of which fifteen species arc new to science and six species are new to the fauna of South Korea. New species are Philoscotus corea- tzus, Batrisodes baejeongdoki, Basitrodes myrmecophilus, Bahiscenellus brachy- gaster, Nipponobythus longicollis, Trissemus petzinsulanus, Btyaxis nogodanensis, B. macheonensis, B. kitnjongkuki, B. leechanyoungi, B. chilimonlanus, B. petzinsu - lanus, Tainochus abdon$nalis, Dicentrius cornurus, Curculionellus komyungXyu- neae. Species new to ihe fauna of South Korea are Batrisus sibiricus Sharp, Rybaxis lamellifer L6b1, Batraxis splendida Nomura, Pilopius mroczkowskii (Liibl), Sogrzol-us breviceps (Sharp), Parucyathigerfujiyamai (Kubota).

Abstract: The yellow crazy ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes (Smith, 1857), is a widespread invasive ant in tropical and subtropical regions. In our study, we surveyed ant cricket species (Myrmecophilinae) associated with A. gracilipes in the Indo-Pacific region and provided a taxonomic revision using an integrative approach by combining morphological and molecular data. At least eight ant cricket species were found in A. gracilipes nests, which represents the greatest number of ant cricket species recorded for a single ant species. Some of these ant crickets were widespread across the Indo-Pacific and have an overlapping distribution with A. gracilipes. Haplotype networks showed incongruence between haplotype groupings and geographic distribution of ant cricket species, indicating co-introductions of ant cricket species with their ant hosts have occurred. A new taxonomic status of related Myrmecophilus species was given: 1) three new species were described (Myrmecophilus antilucanus sp.n., Myrmecophilus caliginosus sp.n., and Myrmecophilus ikaros sp.n.), and 2) three new synonyms and one resurrection was made (M. quadrispina Perkins, 1899 = M. formosanus Shiraki, 1930 syn.n., M. hebardi Mann, 1920 = M. leei Kistner & Chong, 2007 syn.n., M. dubius Saussure, 1877 = M. flavocinctus Wasmann, 1894 stat.n. & syn.n.; M. mayaealberti Hugel & Matyot, 2006 stat.rev.). In addition, traits that potentially promote A. gracilipes as a favorable host for ant crickets are discussed, along with potential ecological impacts associated with co-introduced ant crickets in their non-native range.Open access, licensed under CC BY 4.0. © 2020 The Author(s).DOI: 10.25849/myrmecol.news_030:103Pages: 103-129Volume: 30Year: 2020Journal: Myrmecol. News

Abstract: Myrmecophilus quadrispina (Perkins 1899) has been described from Hawaii and found in the Samoan Islands. In both places it has been considered an introduced species. It is reported here from the Loyalty Islands (Lifou). This is the first occurrence of a myrmecophiline cricket in the New Caledonian area. the species is redescribed, and its male and female genitalia examined. Its biology and behaviour at Lifou Island are briefly documented. A key to Myrmecophilus spp. from the Australian region is given.