ELLIOTT ET AL.: THE CAVE FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 
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Silverfish (Order Zygentoma) 
Silverfish are rare in California caves, but two undescribed troglobitic species of the genus 
Speleonycta (Nicoletiidae) have been recognized, one known only from Clough Cave, Tulare 
County, and the other from caves in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. The genus is otherwise 
known only from one troglobitic species in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Speleonycta is most closely 
related to Texoreddellia, which is ubiquitous in Texas caves. 
Several undetermined specimens of the family Lepismatidae are known from California caves 
but show no cave adaptation, and are common in moist soils and forest litter. 
Barklice (Psocids, Order Psocodea) 
Only two species of tiny barklice have been identified from California caves. One, Psyllipso- 
cus ramburii, is a species known from caves throughout the U.S.A. and other parts of the world. 
The second, P kintpuashi, is known only from five lava caves in Siskiyou County and one cave in 
Sequoia National Park. Both are troglophiles (Mockford 2011). Elliott (1978) discovered in feed¬ 
ing experiments that Banksula harvestmen would attack psocids and springtails in confinement. 
Crickets (Order Orthoptera) 
Camel or cave crickets (Rhaphidophoridae, Figs. 72-73) are common to most American caves. 
Most are trogloxenes that forage outside at night, but some are more troglophilic and may remain 
within the cave for extended periods. The distributions of California cave crickets are shown in 
Table 6. Ceuthophilus (Fig. 72) is the most widespread genus in North America. Pristoceuthophilus 
has about seven species in the Sierra Nevada, at least four of which are new species, including two 
troglophiles. Tropidischia xanthostoma (Fig. 73) is the dusky, slender trogloxene that is common 
in Tulare County, but it ranges to Marin and Trinity counties. 
Most population counts of cave crickets recorded in California are < 50 individuals. The 
largest colonies on record are 100-1,000 (mean of 620) of the troglophile Farallonophilus caver- 
nicolus in each of five caves on the Farallon Islands, San Francisco County (Steiner 1989; Anony¬ 
mous 2011c; Valainis 2014). About 50 Ceuthophilus n. sp. were counted in Lower Shoshone Cave, 
Inyo County, Mojave Desert. One of us (Aalbu) has observed a cricket colony of perhaps 500 in a 
Sierra County cave. Most colony sizes are small compared to those of several species of 
Ceuthophilus in Central Texas (up to 2,500, Elliott 2000a) or Hadonoecus and Euhadenoecus in 
Kentucky (up to 5,000, Lavoie et al. 2007). In contrast to Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and other 
states, California lacks cave beetles that prey on cave cricket eggs, but it has cave beetles that make 
a living as micropredators or detritivores. Some specialize on mammal dung and the fauna around 
the dung. 
Grylloblattids (Ice Crawlers, Order Notoptera) 
Grylloblattidae (Fig. 74) are a family of cold-loving, wingless insects that typically live on 
mountains and near glaciers. Some have been observed under snow crusts or on the walls of 
glacier caves. Only 32 species in 5 genera are known in Northeast Asia and North America. At least 
thirteen species of Grylloblatta occur in California. Formerly placed in the Order Orthoptera with 
crickets, they are now placed in the Order Notoptera, Suborder Grylloblattodea. 
Grylloblattids, commonly called ice crawlers or icebugs, are an ancient group. They look like 
a cross between a cricket and a cockroach, hence the Latin name meaning “cricket-roach.” Their 
eyes are either missing or reduced and they have no ocelli. They are nocturnal and typically found 
in leaf litter and under stones in cold environments, usually at higher elevations in periglacial areas, 
