Crickets Grasshoppers and Katydids: Orthoptera

Physical characteristics: Beetle crickets are small, black, shiny, and beetlelike. Males and females have short, thick forewings covering only half of the abdomen. The veins on these wings are made up of many straight, parallel veins. Males lack the ability to produce sound with their wings.

Geographic range: Guinea (West Africa).

Habitat: Beetle crickets are found in leaf litter of the lowland and middle elevation rainforests, as well as in termite mounds.

Diet: Nothing is known.

Beetle crickets are found in leaf litter of the lowland and middle elevation rainforests, as well as in termite mounds. (Illustration by Bruce Worden. Reproduced by permission.)

Behavior and reproduction: Almost nothing is known about its behavior or reproduction. It may be associated with termites, but the nature of this relationship is unknown.

Beetle crickets and people: Beetle crickets are not known to impact people or their activities.

Conservation status: This species is likely to be threatened by habitat loss but is not now endangered or threatened. ∎