Black long-legged ants were frantically moving house, streaming on a newly painted white gate, carrying eggs and larvae and seemed to be either herding tiny wingless crickets along with them, or just letting the slower crickets find their own way. The Myrmecophilinae are kleptoparasites in the ant's nest. Not rare, but seldom seen or photographed. Some species live only with one species of ant and some are less fussy. They are related to mole crickets but much smaller, wingless, and have reduced eyesight. Evolution and adaptation constantly amaze me.
See ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_cricket
There are less than 100 species described world wide, some with limited distribution. I am unable to find other images on the web of the genus in SE Asia.
Feather legged assassin bug (6 mm). Shaken out of wild passion fruit vines at the house. Has the quiet disposition of an assassin bug: walks rather than runs.
Found on only one occasion in good numbers on moist bare ground at the house. Small. around 1-1.5 cm but much larger than the mole crickets found in ant nests. Transferred to a white background for clarity. Note the antennae and the rear appendages that are distinctly different from the antennae on any of the inclusions in the Mole Cricket Album.
Note the antennae of a beetle - not a wasp a fly or a bee, which it mimics. Probably a female. Parasitic on bees. Lives in the hive in juvenile form, is raised by the bees, pupates, passes for a bee as it leaves the hive for two days to feed and mate and to lay eggs in the flower for a bee to take back tot he hive. Two days as an adult: rarely seen or photographed.
Apparently a genus with one species that I was not familiar with. Note the strangely elongated last segment. There is an informative article on the distribution of the Urothrips here. www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/480/Norwegian+insec...
Compare with illustration number 6 in this compilation of species from China that is listed as Habrothrips curiosus: Ananthakrishnan, 1968: 138. zenodo.org/record/343826#.XXOiwmQzYsk
Biology and Distribution
Described from Madras, India from twigs of Morus alba, known also from Malaysia and Australia. Fungus-feeding in litter. thrips.info/wiki/Habrothrips_curiosus
Tags: Urothrips Thailand Habrothrips curiosus