When I was a small boy, I lived in Cyprus - there was a type of insect we used to call ‘ladybird ants’ (‘ladybird’ is a British synonym for ‘ladybug’, BTW). They were about the size of a largish ant, but had flattish red-brown wings (or wing cases) with a red spot on each of them. As far as I know, we invented the term ‘ladybird ant’ ourselves, so that doesn’t help in identifying them. They were often seen emerging in some numbers from holes in the ground.
On a recent holiday to Spain, I saw them again - just a couple this time, and this time I looked a bit closer (but probably not close enough). Anyway, they look like they’re some kind of slender beetle or possibly true bug. They were walking amongst ants on an ant trail and were unmolested by them - I think this may indicate that they are parasitic or commensal in some way upon the ant colony.
Can anyone identify these insects from the details I’ve given here?
Sounds like young queens going out on their first, and last journey.
The timing is interesting, ant queens of a particular type all leave the nest on the same few days, the vasr majority become food for just about all insectivores, but the sheer numbers that take to the air at one time allows a few to survive and start colonies.
I don’t think they were ants - the wings were opaque with red and black markings and they seemed more like weevils or bugs in their gait and body shape. I’ve seen mating flights of ants this sort of size before and these things looked quite different.
Do the wing cases reach the tip of the abdomen, or are they short? If the latter, I’d wonder if they were some sort of myrmecophilic staphylinid beetle.
Interestingly, there are rare reports of myrmecophilic coccinellids (ladybugs).
I don’t have any pictures, sadly. The resemblance to ladybugs was only superficial; the wing cases or possibly wings themselves were held flat (i.e. they did not enclose the body) and horizontal, but drawn back over the abdomen, as in houseflies.
This picture is quite close, but it’s my impression that the wing cases were flatter - more like actual wings - giving the insect a more angular appearance
We get scads of these. They are one of the few bugs that don’t bother me. One or two manage to stay alive in the house year round. I don’t know how they’re getting in or how to get rid of them.
D’oh! Maple bug is another word for Box Elder Bug. :smack:
Hmm. Do you recall whether or not the end of the abdomen protruded beyond the ends of the wings?
I’m coming up empty here (plus there’s not a huge number of images of myrmecophilic insects to link to), since your first “similar” image is of a carabid beetle (order Coleoptera) while the second (the maple or boxelder bug) is a rhopalid bug (order Hemiptera). That’s a pretty broad range of possibilities!
ETA: I’m more inclined to think it was a type of beetle, since I’m not aware of any myrmecophilic Hemiptera, but it’s certainly possible I’m wrong. I’ve been harping on staphylinid beetles since I think there’s a range of ant-associated species in that family, and other myrmecophilic beetles (e.g. limulodids) tend to be tiny and inconspicuously colored.
