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Miami Herald
07-05-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Cricket that tricks ants into thinking it's one of them was discovered in Latvia
World Cricket that tricks ants into thinking it's one of them was discovered in Latvia The cricket species can reproduce without a mate and is believed to produce only females, researchers said. Photo by Aleksandrs Balodis A unique species of cricket found only in northern Europe tricks ants into letting them into their nests to live among them, where they then feed on ant eggs and steal food. Myrmecophilus acervorum, also known as an ant cricket, has now been recorded for the first time in Latvia, making it the northernmost known distribution of the species, according to an April 25 study published in the Journal of Orthoptera Research. The ant cricket is considered an obligate kleptoparasite, according to the study, meaning it relies entirely on ants for food that it either steals or tricks the ants into sharing. The crickets feed on ant eggs and prey-collected by the ants, according to the study. Researchers said they also receive nutrients via ant trophallaxis, a process common in social insects such as ants where food is shared from mouth to mouth. While Myrmecophilus acervorum is known to inhabit the nests of many different ant species, researchers said it seems to prefer Lasius niger, or the black garden ant. To colonize a new nest, the crickets make themselves chemically indistinguishable from the ants by accumulating molecules called cuticular hydrocarbons taken from the ants themselves. This wax-like substance is used for chemical communication between ants. By essentially wearing this waxy substance on their own bodies, the crickets reduce ant aggression and are accepted by the ants as a nest-mate, according to the study. Ant crickets are among the smallest cricket species in the world and have evolved to be about the same size as ants. They lost the ability to fly, hear or produce sound in the process, according to the study. This physical mimicry is proven to be another defensive advantage for the crickets, researchers said. Researchers found both female specimens in flooded areas of Riga, one near a river and the other near a lake, according to the study. Researchers suspect the Myrmecophilus acervorum in Latvia are reproducing through a process called thelytoky parthenogenesis, 'where females asexually produce only female offspring,' the study said. According to the study, the species is possibly being driven north due to climate change, or it had 'long been overlooked [in the region] due to its small body and cryptic lifestyle.' The research team included Aleksandrs Balodis, Rūta Starka and Dmitry Telnov. Lauren Liebhaber mcclatchy-newsroom Go to X Email this person Lauren Liebhaber covers international science news with a focus on taxonomy and archaeology at McClatchy. She holds a bachelor's degree from St. Lawrence University and a master's degree from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Previously, she worked as a data journalist at Stacker.
Miami Herald
29-04-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Elusive creature — declared extinct decades ago — now rediscovered in Cape Verde
In 1980, researcher Michel Lecoq discovered a new species of grasshopper on Cape Verde's São Nicolau island in Monte Gordo Natural Park. He found a single male specimen, and despite years of searching the archipelago, he never found another. After 1982, Lecoq declared Eyprepocprifas insularis, also known as the Monte Gordo grasshopper, extinct, according to a study published April 24 in the Journal of Orthoptera Research. Nearly 40 years later, in 2023, two researchers rediscovered the species in Monte Gordo Natural Park — the same park where Lecoq discovered it decades earlier, according to the study. They also made the first record of a female of the species, which can be up to twice as large as the males, researchers said. The grasshoppers were found high in the mountains, all at elevations above 2,130 feet, according to the study. The Monte Gordo grasshopper is brachypterous, the study said, which means it has small, reduced wings. These types of wings are often unable to sustain flight, according to experts. Its 'very long hind legs' allow it to jump 'exceptionally far,' researchers said. Researchers said the species is found only on São Nicolau island, which was created by a volcano and is believed to be about 5 million years old, according to the study. The Monte Gordo grasshopper, which researchers call a 'living fossil,' is 'not closely related to known African counterparts,' suggesting the species has evolved in isolation on the island for a long time. Researchers were surprised to discover that the species has an 'extraordinarily thick' exoskeleton. 'Mounting specimens of E. insularis proved quite challenging due to the remarkable difficulty of piercing them with a pin. Surprisingly, an exceptional amount of force was required,' researchers said in the study. The reinforced exoskeleton may be an evolutionary adaption to the island's arid climate where years can pass between rainfall, possibly protecting the grasshopper from excessive water loss or providing enhanced resilience to environmental stress. Researchers recommend the species be designated with vulnerable status on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. The research team included Rob Felix, Annelies Jacobs and Lecoq.
