Morphological characteristics reflect food sources and degree of host ant specificity in four Myrmecophilus crickets

Myrmecophilus crickets are well-known inquilines that live and obtain food resources in ant nests. In Japanese Myrmecophilus species various degrees of host specificity are reflected in behavioral differences among species. For example, extremely specialized species perform trophallaxis with their host ant species, whereas generalist species may steal food from their hosts without any intimate contact. We examined behavioral variations among...