Category: Tactile mimicry
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Ant-mimicking Orthoptera: Crickets, grasshoppers etc.
Batesian mimicry Young instars of some Orthoptera, such as the bush cricket Macroxiphus 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…
