Bug FAQEastern Ant Cricket
Myrmecophilus pergandei · Order: Orthoptera · Family: Myrmecophilidae
The Eastern Ant Cricket is a tiny, dark-brown insect with lighter bands, prominent cerci, and two light elliptical spots on its pronotum. It lives as a wingless, obligate kleptoparasite inside ant nests across North America, and adults are present year-round, taking up to two years to reach maturity.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
They are dark brown with paler bands and have prominent cerci that serve as sensory organs. Two light-colored elliptical markings appear on the pronotum disc.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults can be found throughout the year and may need up to two years to become mature.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They live inside ant nests as wingless, obligate kleptoparasites.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They obtain food by stealing from their ant hosts.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Maturity can take as long as two years, and adults are present year-round.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are found throughout the year.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They are found in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 29 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Virginia, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, South Carolina.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the Eastern Ant Cricket look like?
It is dark brown with lighter bands, has prominent cerci, and two light elliptical spots on its pronotum.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does this cricket live?
It lives inside ant nests as a wingless kleptoparasite.
Source: Wikipedia
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmecophilus_pergandei
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.