| Macroxiphus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Macroxiphus species mimicking an ant | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Ensifera |
| Family: | Tettigoniidae |
| Subtribe: | Liarina |
| Genus: | Macroxiphus Pictet, 1888 |
| Synonyms | |
OdontocoryphusKarny, 1907 | |
Macroxiphus [1] is a small genus of bush crickets or katydids distributed in Southeast Asia and Micronesia. The nymphs (immature stages) of the insects mimic ants.
Species include: [2]
Young instars of Macroxiphus, such as M. sumatranus , have an "uncanny resemblance" to ants, extending to their black coloration, remarkably perfect antlike shape, and convincingly antlike behaviour. Their long antennae are camouflaged to appear short, being black only at the base, and they are vibrated like ant antennae. Larger instars suddenly change into typical-looking katydids, and are entirely nocturnal, while the adult has bright warning coloration. [3]
Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids, or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 6,400 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, the Tettigoniidae are the only extant (living) family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea.
Orthoptera is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts and crickets, including closely related insects such as the katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grasshoppers, locusts and close relatives; and Ensifera – crickets and close relatives.
The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include the cave wētā, cave crickets, camelback crickets, camel crickets, spider crickets and sand treaders. Those occurring in New Zealand, Australia, and Tasmania are typically referred to as jumping or cave wētā. Most are found in forest environments or within caves, animal burrows, cellars, under stones, or in wood or similar environments. All species are flightless and nocturnal, usually with long antennae and legs. More than 1100 species of Rhaphidophoridae are described.
The family Gryllidae contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets. They belong to the Orthopteran subfamily Ensifera, having long, whip-like antennae and has been reduced in terms of the older literature, with taxa such as the spider-crickets and allies, sword-tail crickets, wood or ground crickets and scaly crickets elevated to family level. The type genus is Gryllus and the first use of the family name "Gryllidae" was by Walker.
Ensifera is a suborder of insects that includes the various types of crickets and their allies including: true crickets, camel crickets, bush crickets or katydids, grigs, weta and Cooloola monsters. This and the suborder Caelifera make up the order Orthoptera. Ensifera is believed to be a more ancient group than Caelifera, with its origins in the Carboniferous period, the split having occurred at the end of the Permian period. Unlike the Caelifera, the Ensifera contain numerous members that are partially carnivorous, feeding on other insects, as well as plants.
Ant mimicry or myrmecomorphy is mimicry of ants by other organisms. Ants are abundant all over the world, and potential predators that rely on vision to identify their prey, such as birds and wasps, normally avoid them, because they are either unpalatable or aggressive. Spiders are the most common ant mimics. Additionally, some arthropods mimic ants to escape predation, while others mimic ants anatomically and behaviourally to hunt ants in aggressive mimicry. Ant mimicry has existed almost as long as ants themselves, the earliest ant mimics in the fossil record appear in the mid Cretaceous alongside the earliest ants. Indeed one of the earliest, Burmomyra was initially classified as an ant.
The Tettigoniinae are a subfamily of bush crickets or katydids, which contains hundreds of species in about twelve tribes.
Meconema thalassinum is an insect in the family Tettigoniidae known as the oak bush-cricket and drumming katydid. It is native to Europe, including the British Isles, and was introduced to the United States, first established in the west of Long Island and extending its range to Rhode Island and Scarsdale, Stony Brook, and Ithaca, New York.
Metaplastes pulchripennis, common name Italian ornate bush-cricket, is a species of 'katydids crickets' belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Phaneropterinae.
Taeniopoda eques, the western horse lubber grasshopper, is a relatively large grasshopper species of the family Romaleidae found in the arid lower Sonoran life zone of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Northern populations are identifiable by their shiny black bodies and black and yellow reticulated forewings. Some southern populations are yellow in the adult stage. The species is unique in using its black coloration to thermoregulate and in being chemically defended. The aposematic coloration warns vertebrate predators of its unpalatability and allows the grasshopper to roost conspicuously upon desert shrubs.
Yersinella raymondi, common name Raymond's Bush-cricket, is a species of "katydids crickets" belonging to the family Tettigoniidae subfamily Tettigoniinae. The scientific name Yersinella comes from the name of the entomologist who has described the species in 1860.
Zabalius is a genus of bush crickets or katydids in the subfamily Pseudophyllinae. Its distribution is essentially Afrotropical. They are generally heavily built, tree-dwelling herbivorous katydids, capable of flight.
The Saginae, commonly known as the predatory katydids or predatory bush-crickets, is a subfamily of the family Tettigoniidae. They are mostly found in Europe, west and central Asia and southern Africa.
Mecopodinae, the long-legged katydids, are a subfamily of bush crickets found in western South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. In Asia, the distribution includes India, Indochina, Japan, the Philippines, and Malesia to Papua New Guinea and Australasia, including many Pacific islands.
Aprosphylus is a genus of katydids found in southern Africa.
The Copiphorini are a tribe of bush crickets or katydids in the family Tettigoniidae. Previously considered a subfamily, they are now placed in the subfamily Conocephalinae. Like some other members of Conocephalinae, they are known as coneheads, grasshopper-like insects with an extended, cone-shaped projection on their heads that juts forward in front of the base of the antennae.
Saga is a genus of bush crickets or katydids containing around 15 species as of 2018. It is the only genus in the tribe Sagini and belongs to the subfamily Saginae. Species have been recorded from mainland Europe and western Asia.
Agraeciini is a large tribe of bush crickets or katydids in the conehead subfamily, Conocephalinae.
Copiphora rhinoceros, the rhinoceros katydid, is a katydid found in Central America. It belongs to a group known as the conehead katydids and can be identified by a horn-like projection on the center of its head. The horn is used to ward off attacks from hungry bats. Unlike most katydids, which are herbivores, the rhinoceros katydid is an omnivore, feeding on fruit, seeds, invertebrates and small lizards. Its lifespan is one to two years.
Orophus is a small genus of katydids native to Mexico, Central America, and South America.