Contribution to the knowledge of the ant cricket Myrmecophilus wahrmani Chopard, 1963 (Orthoptera: Myrmecophilidae) with the description of the female

Abstract

The hitherto unknown female of the ant cricket Myrmecophilus wahrmani is described. The species has been known only from Israel and was recorded for the first time in Jordan. Pictures of live and collected specimens are presented, and new data on habitat and ecology are provided.

Keywords:

• Ecology
• faunistics
• Israel
• Jordan
• Middle East
• myrmecophiles

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Oren Auster (Tel Aviv, Israel), Netta Dorchin (Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv, Israel), and Laure Desutter-Grandcolas (National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France) for providing specimens and photos for examination, Dr. Armin Ionescu (Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv, Israel) for identifying the host ant of the specimens photographed in the Yatir Forest by Amir Weinstein, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.