Fungus Feeders

122 species with this diet

Orthoptera

African Cave Cricket

Phaeophilacris spectrum

A large, pale cave-dwelling cricket found in caves across sub-Saharan Africa. It has greatly reduced eyes and elongated ...

Blattodea

African Fungus Termite

Macrotermes natalensis

A large fungus-cultivating termite that builds complex mounds with sophisticated ventilation systems. Its mounds are amo...

Zygentoma

Alabama Cave Silverfish

Speleonycta sp. nov. Alabama

A recently described cave silverfish from northern Alabama caves. It is completely blind and unpigmented, representing a...

Hymenoptera

Amazonian Fungus-Growing Ant

Atta laevigata

One of the largest leaf-cutter ant species with smooth, shiny-headed major workers. Its subterranean colonies can span 3...

Coleoptera

Ambrosia Beetle

Xyleborinus saxesenii

A tiny wood-boring beetle that cultivates ambrosia fungi inside tree galleries as food. They live in cooperative family ...

Blattodea

Anceps Termite

Ancistrotermes cavithorax

A fungus-growing termite common across Sub-Saharan Africa, often sharing habitat with larger Macrotermes species. Coloni...

Orthoptera

Australian King Cricket

Australostylus montanus

A large, robust cricket found in the cool mountain forests of southeastern Australia. It is flightless and nocturnal wit...

Blattodea

Badius Fungus Termite

Odontotermes badius

An African fungus-growing termite widespread in savanna ecosystems. Colonies build subterranean nests with moderate moun...

Orthoptera

Balkan Cave Cricket

Troglophilus cavicola

A common cave cricket found throughout the Dinaric karst region of southeastern Europe. It congregates in large groups o...

Coleoptera

Banded Fungus Beetle

Triplax russica

A small, attractively colored beetle with a red thorax and dark blue-black elytra. Lives on bracket fungi on dead trees....

Coleoptera

Bathysciola Cave Beetle

Bathysciola ovata

A small oval cave beetle found in the Pyrenean caves of France and Spain. It has reduced eyes and elongated antennae for...

Hemiptera

Beech Scale

Cryptococcus fagisuga

A tiny scale insect that feeds on beech bark, creating wounds that allow the Neonectria fungus to enter. Together they c...

Blattodea

Bilobatus Soil Termite

Cubitermes bilobatodes

An African soil-feeding termite found in moist forests and forest-savanna transitional zones. Mounds are small and may h...

Blattodea

Bioluminescent Cockroach

Lucihormetica verrucosa

A cockroach with two glowing spots on its pronotum that mimic toxic click beetles....

Diptera

Bioluminescent Fungus Gnat

Keroplatus testaceus

A remarkable fungus gnat whose larvae create bioluminescent webs on bracket fungi. The blue-green glow attracts prey ins...

Lepidoptera

Blue Morpho

Morpho menelaus

Renowned for its brilliant iridescent blue wings. The color is not from pigment but from microscopic scales that reflect...

Diptera

Blue Mountains Glowworm

Arachnocampa richardsae

An Australian bioluminescent fungus gnat closely related to the New Zealand glowworm. Its larvae hang from cave ceilings...

Protura

Brazilian Eosentomid

Eosentomon braziliense

A tropical proturan from Brazilian forest soils representing one of the few South American species described. It inhabit...

Coleoptera

Brazilian Pleasing Fungus Beetle

Erotylus incomparabilis

A strikingly patterned beetle with bold black and orange spots on a glossy body. It is commonly found on bracket fungi i...

Zygentoma

Canary Islands Cave Silverfish

Coletinia majorensis

A cave-adapted silverfish from Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. It lives in lava tubes and volcanic caves....

Psocoptera

Cave Bark Louse

Prionoglaris stygia

A primitive cave-dwelling bark louse found in European caves. It retains many ancestral features making it important for...

Orthoptera

Cave Cricket

Ceuthophilus secretus

A wingless, hump-backed cricket with extremely long antennae adapted for life in total darkness. It emerges from caves a...

Collembola

Cave Springtail

Pseudosinella violenta

A pale elongate springtail adapted to cave environments with reduced pigmentation and eyes. It feeds on fungi and bat gu...

Orthoptera

Cave Weta

Gymnoplectron acanthocerum

A large cave-dwelling weta endemic to New Zealand with extremely long antennae up to three times its body length. Uses i...

Protura

Chinese Sinentomid

Sinentomon erythranum

A rare proturan discovered in Chinese soil that represents a unique family within the order. It has abdominal spiracles ...

Diptera

Common Fungus Gnat

Bradysia impatiens

A small, delicate dark fly with long legs and antennae that commonly infests houseplant soil. Adults are weak fliers tha...

Lepidoptera

Cork Moth

Nemapogon cloacella

A small mottled brown and cream moth that naturally breeds in bracket fungi on trees. It occasionally becomes a pest in ...

Diplura

Crimean Cave Dipluran

Plusiocampa dublanskii

A cave-adapted dipluran from limestone caves in the Crimean Peninsula. It shows classic troglomorphic traits including d...

Blattodea

Dark Mound Termite

Macrotermes carbonarius

A large fungus-growing termite found across Southeast Asia that builds conspicuous dark mounds. Workers process dead woo...

Diptera

Dark-winged Fungus Gnat

Sciara hemerobioides

A small, dark fungus gnat with smoky wings and long slender antennae. Its larvae are known for forming spectacular march...

Psocoptera

Death Watch Barklouse

Trogium pulsatorium

A common indoor booklouse known for producing a quiet tapping sound by striking its abdomen against surfaces. It is foun...

Psocoptera

Degeeri Booklouse

Liposcelis decolor

A cosmopolitan booklouse commonly found in libraries, herbaria, and grain stores. It can cause significant damage to sto...

Hemiptera

Derbid Planthopper

Anotia bonnetii

A delicate planthopper with elongated, paddle-shaped wings held flat over the body. It is pale yellowish-green and often...

Orthoptera

Dominican Amber Cricket

Amphiacusta annulipes

A cave-dwelling cricket found in Hispaniola with long antennae and pale coloring. It is related to species found preserv...

Psocoptera

Dorypteryx Booklouse

Dorypteryx domestica

A winged domestic psocid found in houses, especially in roof spaces and lofts. It is attracted to light and sometimes sw...

Psocoptera

Dusty Barklouse

Lachesilla pedicularia

A tiny psocid commonly found in old books, herbaria, and grain stores. It thrives in dusty undisturbed environments....

Orthoptera

Elegant Cave Cricket

Ceuthophilus elegans

A moderately-sized cave cricket found in caves and dark sheltered areas across the eastern United States. It has a mottl...

Orthoptera

European Cave Cricket

Dolichopoda linderi

A true troglobitic cricket found in caves of the French Pyrenees. It has reduced eyes and elongated cerci compared to su...

Hymenoptera

Exploding Ant

Colobopsis explodens

Minor workers can deliberately rupture their own bodies in an act of self-sacrifice, releasing a toxic sticky yellow sec...

Coleoptera

Featherwing Beetle

Scydosella musawasensis

The smallest known free-living (non-parasitic) insect at just 0.325 mm long. Discovered in Nicaragua in 1999, it feeds o...

Orthoptera

Fiordland Cave Weta

Pachyrhamma waitomoensis

A large cave weta found in the cave systems of the Waitomo region in New Zealand. It has very long legs and antennae ada...

Coleoptera

Flat Bark Beetle of Madeira

Tarphius rufonodulosus

A small flattened beetle endemic to the laurel forests of Madeira. It lives under the bark of dead Laurus and Ocotea tre...

Diptera

Flat-footed Fly

Lindneromyia dorsalis

A tiny fly that runs in circles on leaf surfaces during its courtship display....

Hemiptera

Frosted Pine Aphid

Cinara pilicornis

A large brown aphid covered in waxy powder that forms colonies on spruce twigs. It produces copious honeydew that suppor...

Coleoptera

Fungus Weevil

Platyrhinus resinosus

A broad-nosed weevil with mottled brown and white patterning resembling tree bark. It is associated with fungus-infected...

Psocoptera

Furniture Booklouse

Liposcelis paeta

A minute pale booklouse often found in new homes and recently plastered walls. It feeds on microscopic mold in damp indo...

Protura

Garden Acerentomid

Acerentomon gallicum

A minute soil-dwelling proturan commonly found in gardens and meadows of western Europe. It lacks eyes, wings, and anten...

Psocoptera

Grain Booklouse

Liposcelis bostrychophila

A tiny wingless booklouse that is one of the most common stored-product pests worldwide. It thrives in warm humid enviro...

Coleoptera

Granulate Ambrosia Beetle

Xylosandrus crassiusculus

A tiny reddish-brown ambrosia beetle that bores into a wide range of hardwood trees. It cultivates a symbiotic fungus in...

Hemiptera

Greenhouse Whitefly

Trialeurodes vaporariorum

A white-winged sap-feeding insect commonly found in greenhouses and warm climates. Adults and nymphs produce honeydew th...

Coleoptera

Handsome Fungus Beetle

Stenotarsus rotundus

A small rounded beetle that aggregates in enormous numbers during dry seasons....

Coleoptera

Helena Olive Wireworm Beetle

Tarphius wollastoni

A small beetle endemic to St. Helena in the South Atlantic. It is associated with decaying endemic gumwood trees....

Hymenoptera

Horntail Wasp

Urocerus gigas

A large wood wasp that injects symbiotic fungus into trees along with its eggs....

Blattodea

Indian Fungus-growing Termite

Odontotermes obesus

A major fungus-cultivating termite pest in the Indian subcontinent. It causes significant damage to crops, trees, and wo...

Blattodea

Indian Mound Termite

Odontotermes wallonensis

A common mound-building fungus termite in the Indian subcontinent. Workers forage extensively in agricultural fields, of...

Blattodea

Indian White Termite

Odontotermes horni

A fungus-cultivating termite common in the forests and agricultural areas of the Indian subcontinent. Colonies build sub...

Orthoptera

Japanese Cave Cricket

Diestrammena japanica

A large cave cricket native to Japan where it inhabits natural caves and man-made tunnels. It has very long antennae tha...

Protura

Japanese Eosentomid

Eosentomon sakura

A tiny proturan found in the soils of Japanese temperate forests. It possesses functional spiracles unlike acerentomid p...

Hymenoptera

Jet Black Ant

Lasius fuliginosus

A shiny jet-black ant that builds carton nests inside hollow trees using chewed wood mixed with honeydew. It cultivates ...

Orthoptera

Kentucky Cave Cricket

Ceuthophilus stygius

A large cave cricket found throughout the cave systems of Kentucky and surrounding states. It has extremely long antenna...

Collembola

Krubera Cave Springtail

Plutomurus ortobalaganensis

The deepest-dwelling terrestrial animal ever recorded, found at 1,980 meters underground in Krubera Cave. It is complete...

Coleoptera

Large Elm Bark Beetle

Scolytus scolytus

The principal vector of Dutch elm disease in Europe. Adults feed in twig crotches of healthy elms, transmitting the dead...

Hymenoptera

Leafcutter Ant

Atta cephalotes

Fungus farmers that cut and carry leaf fragments to underground gardens where they cultivate a specific fungus for food....

Diplura

Lepidocampa Dipluran

Lepidocampa weberi

A tropical dipluran found in forest soils across Southeast Asia. It has distinctive scale-covered body segments....

Psocoptera

Lepinotus Booklouse

Lepinotus reticulatus

A small wingless psocid with a reticulated body surface found in buildings and caves. It tolerates cooler temperatures t...

Hymenoptera

Lesser Leaf-Cutter Ant

Acromyrmex octospinosus

A smaller leaf-cutter ant species covered in spiny tubercles on its body. It forms more modest colonies than Atta but is...

Blattodea

Macrotermes Queen

Macrotermes bellicosus

Queens can live for over 25 years (possibly up to 50) and grow to enormous size — a single queen lays up to 30,000 eggs ...

Blattodea

Malaccensis Fungus Termite

Macrotermes malaccensis

A large mound-building fungus termite found in the rainforests of peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. Colonies construct pro...

Hymenoptera

Mars Leafcutter Ant

Atta colombica

A major leafcutter ant species found in Colombian and Panamanian tropical forests. It forms large colonies with millions...

Diptera

Midge Gall Fly

Asphondylia sarothamni

A gall midge that induces pod-like galls on broom shrubs. Its larvae develop inside swollen seed pods alongside symbioti...

Coleoptera

Miniature Water Scavenger Beetle

Cercyon laminatus

A tiny terrestrial hydrophilid often found in compost and decaying plant material. Despite belonging to a water beetle f...

Blattodea

Mound-building Termite

Macrotermes gilvus

A fungus-growing termite widespread across Southeast Asia that builds subterranean to semi-subterranean nests with low m...

Orthoptera

Mount Arthur Cave Weta

Miotopus diversus

A cave weta endemic to caves in the Nelson region of New Zealand's South Island. It has extremely long antennae and pale...

Diptera

Mountain Fungus Gnat

Boletina alpina

A delicate, long-legged gnat found in damp montane forests. Larvae develop in fungi and decaying wood at high elevations...

Orthoptera

New Zealand Cave Weta

Pachyrhamma edwardsii

A large cave weta found throughout New Zealand's North Island caves. It has massive hind legs and can grow quite large....

Diptera

New Zealand Glowworm

Arachnocampa luminosa

A bioluminescent fungus gnat larva endemic to New Zealand. Produces blue-green light to lure prey into sticky silk threa...

Protura

Nosek's Eosentomid

Eosentomon noseki

A small proturan described from central European soils named after prominent proturologist Josef Nosek. It prefers moist...

Hemiptera

Ornate Derbid

Cedusa ornata

A tiny planthopper with delicate wings featuring intricate brown patterning. Adults have characteristically elongated wi...

Zygentoma

Ozark Cave Silverfish

Speleonycta ozarkensis

A blind cave-adapted silverfish found in caves of the Ozark Highlands. It is completely white and eyeless....

Lepidoptera

Pink Glasswing

Cithaerias pireta

A forest-floor butterfly with mostly transparent wings and delicate pink-tinted hind wing patches. It has a weak, flutte...

Coleoptera

Pitted Ambrosia Beetle

Cnesinus strigicollis

A tiny dark brown bark beetle that cultivates fungal gardens inside its tunnels. It introduces ambrosia fungi into the w...

Coleoptera

Pleasing Lacewing Beetle

Zenoa picea

An uncommon beetle found only on fungus-covered deciduous trees....

Coleoptera

Powdered Fungus Beetle of Azores

Tarphius floresensis

A tiny beetle endemic to Flores Island in the Azores. It inhabits decaying wood in remnant laurel forests....

Blattodea

Protermes Inquiline Termite

Protermes prorepens

A small inquiline termite that lives within the mounds of larger fungus-growing termite species in Africa. Colonies are ...

Psocoptera

Psyllipsocus Cave Psocid

Psyllipsocus ramburii

A pale, long-antennaed psocid adapted to dark environments like caves and cellars. It has reduced eyes and elongated sen...

Hemiptera

Red Cotton Bug

Dysdercus koenigii

A bright red and black true bug that stains cotton lint by piercing developing cotton bolls. Adults and nymphs aggregate...

Blattodea

Red Earth Termite

Odontotermes formosanus

A widespread fungus-growing termite in East and Southeast Asia that is a major structural and agricultural pest. Colonie...

Coleoptera

Red-shouldered Rove Beetle

Tachinus rufipes

A robust, medium-sized rove beetle with reddish-brown legs and a shiny dark body. It is one of the most ubiquitous Tachy...

Hemiptera

Rhododendron Leafhopper

Graphocephala fennahi

A brightly colored red and blue-green leafhopper that feeds on rhododendrons. It vectors a fungus that causes rhododendr...

Coleoptera

Ribbed Net-winged Beetle

Platycis minutus

A small European net-winged beetle with dark reddish-brown elytra featuring strongly raised longitudinal ridges. It is f...

Coleoptera

Rolled-wing Beetle

Derodontus maculatus

A tiny beetle that feeds on slime molds on decaying logs in cool forests....

Blattodea

Savanna Cubitermes

Cubitermes severus

A soil-feeding termite building characteristic mushroom-shaped mounds in West African savannas. Workers process large am...

Coleoptera

Scarlet Net-Winged Beetle

Plateros brasiliensis

A bright red lycid beetle found in the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil. Its vivid coloration is part of a large mimicry...

Coleoptera

Silken Fungus Beetle

Cryptophagus lycoperdi

A tiny beetle found inside puffball fungi and in moldy grain stores. Covered in fine silky hairs. Part of a poorly-known...

Hymenoptera

Sirex Woodwasp

Sirex noctilio

A large blue-black woodwasp that bores into pine trees to lay eggs. It injects a symbiotic fungus into the wood that fee...

Diplura

Slovenian Cave Dipluran

Plusiocampa strouhali

A troglobitic dipluran found in caves of Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It has greatly elongated antennae for sensing ...

Diptera

Snow Crane Fly

Chionea valga

A wingless crane fly adapted to cold environments, found walking on snow surfaces in winter. It resembles a long-legged ...

Blattodea

Soil-feeding Cubitermes Termite

Cubitermes fungifaber

A soil-feeding termite that builds distinctive mushroom-shaped mounds. It processes large volumes of soil to extract org...

Orthoptera

South African Cave Cricket

Speleiacris tabulae

A cave cricket endemic to caves on the Cape Peninsula of South Africa. It has reduced eyes and pale brown coloration....

Hymenoptera

South American Leafcutter Ant

Atta sexdens

One of the most widespread leafcutter ant species in South America, recognized by the three pairs of spines on its thora...

Collembola

Southeast Asian Cave Springtail

Coecobrya tenebricosa

A widely distributed cave springtail found throughout Southeast Asian caves. It is completely white and eyeless....

Coleoptera

Speonomus Cave Beetle

Speonomus pyrenaeus

A small cave beetle from the Pyrenees known for its extreme cave adaptations. It has vestigial eyes and elongated sensor...

Blattodea

Sphaerotermes Mushroom-comb Termite

Sphaerotermes sphaerothorax

An African fungus-growing termite with a unique fungus cultivation strategy. Unlike other fungiculturists that grow Term...

Coleoptera

Splendid Earth-boring Beetle

Bolbocerosoma farctum

A stout rotund beetle with a polished amber-brown body. It digs deep burrows in sandy soil and is attracted to lights at...

Orthoptera

Spotted Camel Cricket

Ceuthophilus maculatus

A hump-backed wingless cricket with spotted brown coloring and very long hind legs. It is nocturnal and lives in cool da...

Diptera

Stalk-Eyed Fly

Teleopsis dalmanni

Males have eyes on the tips of long rigid stalks that can span wider than their body length. Females prefer males with w...

Coleoptera

Steppe Darkling Beetle

Blaps mortisaga

A large, slow-moving black beetle found in dry steppe and semi-desert regions from Europe to Central Asia. It is mainly ...

Hymenoptera

Stripe-Backed Leafcutter Ant

Acromyrmex striatus

A small leafcutter ant adapted to the grasslands and dry regions of southern South America. Unlike most leafcutter ants,...

Coleoptera

Striped Ambrosia Beetle

Trypodendron lineatum

A widespread ambrosia beetle that attacks freshly felled conifers. It cultivates symbiotic fungi inside its tunnels as f...

Lepidoptera

Sunset Morpho

Morpho hecuba

The largest species in the morpho butterfly genus, with brownish-orange wings rather than the typical blue. Found in low...

Orthoptera

Tasmanian Cave Cricket

Micropathus ditto

A recently described cave cricket from wet forests of Tasmania, Australia. It is a short-range endemic threatened by hab...

Zygentoma

Texas Cave Silverfish

Texoreddellia texensis

A troglobitic silverfish endemic to limestone caves in central Texas. It has no eyes and a pale, elongated body....

Hymenoptera

Texas Leafcutter Ant

Atta texana

The northernmost leafcutter ant species, found in the southern United States. Nests can extend 6 meters deep and cover l...

Coleoptera

Tooth-Necked Fungus Beetle

Bolitotherus cornutus

A heavily armored, warty brown beetle that feeds on shelf fungi on dead trees. Males have two prominent horns on the tho...

Coleoptera

Trilobite Beetle

Duliticola hoiseni

Females are large, larviform, and look strikingly like trilobites from the Paleozoic era. Males are tiny conventional-lo...

Psocoptera

Tropical Book Louse

Liposcelis entomophila

A cosmopolitan booklouse frequently found in insect collections and herbaria. It feeds on dead insects and dried plant s...

Diplura

Turkish Cave Dipluran

Plusiocampa aff. typhla

A cave-adapted dipluran from limestone caves in Turkey. It is part of a species complex found across the eastern Mediter...

Coleoptera

Twenty-Two Spot Ladybird

Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata

A tiny bright yellow ladybird with exactly 22 black spots, widespread across Europe. Unlike most ladybirds, it feeds on ...

Lepidoptera

Vegetable Caterpillar

Ophiocordyceps robertsii

The host of this relationship is the caterpillar of the native moth Aenetus virescens, parasitized by the endemic Cordyc...

Collembola

Venetian Cave Springtail

Deuteraphorura venetiana

A blind white springtail recently described from caves in northeastern Italy. It has no eyes and a completely reduced ju...

Coleoptera

Violin Beetle

Mormolyce phyllodes

An extraordinarily flat beetle shaped like a violin. Its paper-thin body allows it to squeeze between bracket fungi and ...

Blattodea

West African Fungus-Growing Termite

Macrotermes subhyalinus

A widespread African termite that builds large above-ground mounds and farms Termitomyces fungi. They are an important f...