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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER ORTHOPTERA
- ETYMOLOGY: Greek orthos (straight) and pteron (wing).
- COMMON NAME: grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets
- DISTRIBUTION: over 22,000 described species, Worldwide, terrestrial. Found on vegetation, on the ground, and some are subterranean or live in caves.
- MORPHOLOGY: up to 120 mm long. Most adults with wings, but many are wingless. When present, forewings typically thickened and narrower than the more membranous and broader hind wings. Hypognathous head with chewing mouthparts and variable-sized antennae and well developed coupound eyes. Prothorax usually prominent. Hind legs typically modified for jumping. A pair of single-segmented cerci are at the end of the abdomen.
- DIET: Primarily herbivores, but some also feed on other insects.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious and sexual; oviparous. Hemimetabolus development and young look like adults but lack developed wings and genitalia. Many with elaborate courtship behavior that includes communication with sound. This group includes most of the insects that sing.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER PHASMATODEA
- ETYMOLOGY: Latin phasma (apparition, ghost).
- COMMON NAME: stick and leaf insects
- DISTRIBUTION: around 3000 described species. Worldwide, though mostly tropical; terrestrial habitats on plants.
- MORPHOLOGY: Around 2 to 55 cm long. Most are several cm long with very long, slender body and with long, slender legs. Some are winged, others wingless. Usually prognathous head with chewing mouthparts. Short to moderately long antennae.
- DIET: herbivorous.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious, sexual, oviparous. Some are parthenogenetic.Well known for their cryptic mimicry of plant stems (and some of leaves).
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER ORTHOPTERA
- Family recognition (California, local): Acrididae (grasshoppers)
- DISTRIBUTION: over 200 California species; terrestrial and found on plants or on the ground.
- MORPHOLOGY: body up to 55 mm long. Head hypognathous with strong chewing mouthparts and relatively short antennae. Hind legs modified for jumping with large, muscular femur. Forewings rather narrow and somewhat leathery, the hindwing broad and membranous. Some with wings very reduced. Auditory tympanae on side of first abdominal segment.
- DIET: Primarily herbivores but some also carnivorous on dead insects.
- REPRODUCTION: Sexual and oviparous. Eggs usually laid in the ground. Hemimetabolus development.Some of our grasshoppers stridulate (make sounds) by rubbing the inside of the hind femora against outside of forewings.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER ORTHOPTERA
- Family recognition (California, local): Tettigoniidae (katydids)
- DISTRIBUTION: about 70 California species; terrestrial and found on living plants. Some come to lights at night
- MORPHOLOGY: body up to 65 mm long. Head hypognathous with chewing mouthparts and very long, thin antennae. Many virtually wingless, but most winged ones with forewings held pressed together over and on side of body and modified to look like leaves. Males call by rubbing bases of forewings together. Auditory tympanae on anterior face of front tibiae. Female ovipositor laterally compressed.
- DIET: Primarily feed on living plant tissues, but some also predaceous.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious and sexual; oviparous. Sperm transfer via a spermatophore, typically associated with an attached nuptial gift (spermatophylax) that is consumed by female. Hemimetabolus development.Well known for their cryptic mimicry of both living and dead leaves and for the nocturnal singing of males.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER ORTHOPTERA
- Family recognition (California, local): Gryllidae (crickets)
- DISTRIBUTION: dozens ?? of California species; terrestrial and found on living plants or on the ground. Some come to lights at night
- MORPHOLOGY: 2-30 mm long. Head hypognathous with chewing mouthparts and long, thin antennae. Many wingless, but most winged ones with forewings folded over each other and held flat over top of body. Males call by rubbing bases of forewings together. Auditory tympanae on anterior face of front tibiae.
- DIET: Primarily feed on living plant tissues, but some also omnivorous..
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious and sexual; oviparous. Hemimetabolus development.Only male crickets sing, to call females.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER ORTHOPTERA
- Family recognition (California, local): Stenopelmatidae (Jerusalem crickets)
- DISTRIBUTION: probably dozens, mostly undescribed California species; terrestrial and primarily subterranean. Often encountered under stones or wood on ground.
- MORPHOLOGY: 20-70 mm long. Large, smooth hypognathous head with powerful chewing mouthparts and moderately long, thin antennae. Most wingless or with rudimentary wings. Do not fly, no sound detection tympanae, no sound producing structures on wings. Males call via ground transmission drumming of substrate with abdomen.
- DIET: Generalist on both plant and animal matter.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious and sexual; oviparous. Hemimetabolus development.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER MANTODEA
- ETYMOLOGY: Greek mantos (soothsayer, fortune teller).
- COMMON NAME: mantises, praying mantidsDISTRIBUTION: 2000 described species. About 20 species in North America. Worldwide but mostly tropical; terrestrial, primarily on vegetation. Sometimes attracted to lights at night.
- MORPHOLOGY: 1-17 cm long. Elongate, dorsoventrally-flattened body. Hypognathous, triangular-shaped head with chewing mouthparts and large, compound eyes. Usually with four membranous wings, front pair narrower and thicker, hind pair broader and more membranous. Forelegs raptorial.
- DIET: Primarily diurnal predators, both as larvae and adults, on other insects including members of their own species. Some are large enough to take small vertebrates such as hummingbirds.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious, sexual, oviparous. Eggs laid in a frothy mass (oothecum) that hardens. Female sometimes kills and eats male during mating. Hemimetabolous development.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER BLATTARIA
- ETYMOLOGY: Latin blatta (cockroach).
- COMMON NAME: cockroaches
- DISTRIBUTION: 4000 described species. Worldwide, mostly tropical, in secluded places, leaf litter, in rotting logs, etc. Sometimes attracted to lights at night.
- MORPHOLOGY: 3-100 or so mm long. Oval to elliptical, dorsoventrally-flattened body. Hypognathus head with long, thin antennae and chewing mouthparts. Pronotum large, flat, laterally expanded, and often covering the head. Forewings (tegmina) thickened; hindwings broad, membranous. A pair of cerci at end of abdomen.
- DIET: Cockroaches are saprophagous (eat decaying organisms) scavengers. Some groups eat wood using gut symbiont protists.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious, sexual, oviparous. Eggs laid in a purse-shaped egg case (oothecum) that is sometimes carried by the female. Some retain this within body (a form of ovoviviparity) and a few are viviparous. Some also parthenogenetic. Mating involves pheromones and courtship. Hemimetabolous development with nymphs resembling wingless adults.About 30 species are widespread associates of humans and their habitations. Most of these are considered pests.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER ISOPTERA
- ETYMOLOGY: Greek iso (equal) and pteron (wing).
- COMMON NAME: termites
- DISTRIBUTION: 2600 described species. About 20 species in North America. Worldwide but mostly tropical; terrestrial and are found in large colonies. Sometimes attracted to lights at night when reproductives are flying.
- MORPHOLOGY: ~1-20 mm long; egg-laying queens up to several cm long. Hypognathous or prognathous head usually with chewing mouthparts. Compound eyes usually reduced. Antennae moderately long. Wings membranous with reduced venation and for- and hindwings about the same size. End of abdomen with a pair of 1-5 segmented cerci.
- DIET: Termites feed on cellulose-rich material such as wood or grass. Elaborate hindgut houses endosymbiotic bacteria, and often protists. Symbionts exchanged among individuals via trophallaxis.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious, sexual, oviparous. Hemimetabolous development.Termites live in eusocial colonies with polymorphic casts of reproductives, workers, and soldiers. Colony resides in galleries within wood, earthen mounds, or above ground nests (termitarium).
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER PSOCOPTERA
- ETYMOLOGY: Latin psocos (book louse) and Greek pteron (wing).
- COMMON NAME: bark lice, book lice
- DISTRIBUTION: ~6000 described species. Worldwide, terrestrial.
- MORPHOLOGY: 1-10 cm long. Relatively large head with asymmetrical chewing mouthparts, large compound eyes and long, slender antennae. Enlarged, bulbous area (postclypeus) on front of face. Most are wingless or with reduced wings; winged ones hold wings (membranous and with reduced venation) roof-like over body. Winged species have three ocelli, otherwise absent. No cerci.
- DIET: Primarily feed on fungi, lichens, algae, and dead organic matter.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious, sexual, oviparous. Some are viviparous. Parthenogenesis is common. Sperm transferred via spermatophore. Hemimetabolous development.Some are household pests where they can damage paper, books, and other items made of organic matter (such as insect collections).
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER PHTHIRAPTERA
- ETYMOLOGY: Greek phtheir (louse) and a (without) and pteron (wing).
- COMMON NAME: parasitic lice
- DISTRIBUTION: ~ 5000 described species. Parasites of birds and mammals (except bats).
- MORPHOLOGY: 0.3-12 mm long. WIngless, dorsoventrally-flattened body. Eyes absent or reduced. Mouthparts modified for chewing or piercing-sucking. Antennae short. Legs often modified for holding on to host.
- DIET: Chewing lice feed on feathers and skin, sucking lice feed on mammal blood.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious, sexual, oviparous. Eggs laid on host. Hemimetabolous development with nymphs resembling less pigmented adtults.Species are typically host specific. Some are important vectors of human disease. E.g., Pediculus humanus corporus (Typhus).
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER THYSANOPTERA
- ETYMOLOGY: Greek thysanos (fringed) and pteron (wing).
- COMMON NAME: thrips
- DISTRIBUTION: 6000 described species. Worldwide, terrestrial. Often encountered in flowers.
- MORPHOLOGY: 0.5-15 mm long, though most on the small end of this range. Elongate, narrow body. Mouthparts in the form of a short feeding tube. Wings similar, narrow, and with fringe of long setae.
- DIET: Thrips east pollen, spores, and plant fluids.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious, sexual, oviparous. Development is intermediate between hemi- and holometabolous; possessing a short resting stage (like a pupa) before becoming an adult. Haplodiploid (females diploid, males haploid from unfertilized eggs).Some are vectors of plant viruses.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER HEMIPTERA
- ETYMOLOGY: Greek hemi (half) and pteron (wing).
- COMMON NAME: sucking insects (true bugs, cicadas, plant hoppers, etc.)
- DISTRIBUTION: 100,000 described species, Worldwide; terrestrial, aquatic and semiaquatic. Includes some of very few insects to colonize the oceans.
- MORPHOLOGY: 1-120 mm long. Head hypognathous with piercing, sucking mouthparts. This rostrum is held along the venter of the body when at rest. Forewings in some groups (Heteroptera) thickened at base; in others both wings membranous and held rooflike over the body. Antennae usually short.
- DIET: Primarily feed on plant fluids, but some feed on other insects and a few feed on vertebrate blood.
- REPRODUCTION: Dioecious and sexual; oviparous. Sperm transfer via copulation (bed bugs via traumatic insemination). Some practice care of eggs and young.Members of this very large order exhibit a wide variety of morphologies and behavior.Some are pests that bite people (bed bugs), are vectors of human diseast (Reduviidae, Triatominae - Chagas Disease), or are agricultural pests (aphids, whiteflies, scale insects and mealy bugs). This order includes some of the very few insects that have colonized the oceans.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER HEMIPTERA
- Family recognition (California, local): Gerridae (water striders)
- DISTRIBUTION: about 10 California species; including one in the Pacific Ocean. Typically in slow moving, freshwater especially pools in streams.
- MORPHOLOGY: 3-15 mm long. Head hypognathous with piercing, sucking mouthparts. Wings, when present, held folded over body. Front legs raptorial, not used for locomotion.
- DIET: Primarily insects that fall onto the water's surface
- .REPRODUCTION: Sometimes stay coupled together during and after mating.Very fine, hydrophobic hairs on the bottom of the tarsi facilitate these insects walking on the water surface.Example local species Aquarius remigus (Say, 1832)
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER HEMIPTERA
- Family recognition (California, local): Belostomatidae (giant water bugs, toe biters)
- DISTRIBUTION: 6 California species; found in freshwater ponds and streams. Some come to lights at night.
- MORPHOLOGY: 15-55 mm long. Head hypognathous with piercing, sucking mouthparts. Adults with wings held folded over body. Front legs raptorial, hind legs modified for swimming.
- DIET: Carnivorous on invertebrates and some small vertebrates such as tadpoles.
- REPRODUCTION: After mating, females lay their eggs on the back of the male. He tends the eggs until they hatch.Example local species Abedus indentatus (Haldeman, 1854).
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER HEMIPTERA
- Family recognition (local, California): Notonectidae (backswimmers)
- DISTRIBUTION: 11 California species; found in freshwater ponds and pools of streams.
- MORPHOLOGY: 15-55 mm long. Head hypognathous with piercing, sucking mouthparts. Adults with wings held folded over body. Hind legs oarlike, modified for swimming.
- DIET: Carnivorous on invertebrates and some small vertebrates such as young fish or tadpoles.
- REPRODUCTION: Eggs laid on submerged vegetation, rocks, or submerged debris.Backswimmers swim with their ventral surface facing upward. They can deliver a powerful bite (a stab with their mouthparts) when picked up.Example local species Notonecta hoffmani Hungerford, 1925.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER HEMIPTERA
- Family recognition (local, California): Cimicidae (bed bugs, bat bugs)
- DISTRIBUTION: < 10 California species; found in homes and associated with birds and bats.
- MORPHOLOGY: 3-9 mm long. Head somewhat prognathous with piercing, sucking mouthparts. Oval shaped, dorsoventrally flattened, reddish-brown, and wingless.
- DIET: Larvae (nymphs) and adults feed on vertebrate blood including humans (bed bugs).
- REPRODUCTION: Copulation by traumatic insemination. Can have several generations per year.Although bed bugs have been closely associated with humans for thousands of years and feed on human blood they are apparently not vectors of any disease.Example local species Cimex lectularius Linnaeus, 1758 (Bed Bug).
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER HEMIPTERA
- Family recognition (California, local): Pentatomidae (stink bugs)
- DISTRIBUTION: about 50 California species; terrestrial and found on living plants.
- MORPHOLOGY: ~5-15 mm long. Head somewhat prognathous with piercing, sucking mouthparts. Dorsoventrally flattened body with broad prothorax and large scutellum. Wings of adults folded over body.
- DIET: Larvae (nymphs) and adults feed on plants in the family Brassicaceae (mustards).
- REPRODUCTION: Eggs deposited in clusters that resemble a group of barrels.Members of this family typically produce smelly chemicals from glands near the base of their abdomen. These chemicals are used to deter predators.Example local species Murgantia histrionica (Hahn, 1824) (Harlequin Cabbage Bug).
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER HEMIPTERA
- Family recognition (California, local): Cicadidae (cicadas)
- DISTRIBUTION: about 65 California species; terrestrial and found on living plants.
- MORPHOLOGY: 12-35 mm long. Head hypognathous with piercing, sucking mouthparts. Adults with rounded, somewhat elongate body with four membranous wings held rooflike over body.
- DIET: Larvae (nymphs) live underground and feed on plant roots. Adults do not feed.
- REPRODUCTION: Nymphs of most species require several years to develop.This family includes the loudest insects. Males sing using drum-like tymbals at the base of their abdomen.Example local species Okanagana tristis Van Duzee, 1915
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER HEMIPTERA
http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG271/pics/corn_root_aphid.gif
- Family recognition (California, local): Aphididae (aphids)
- DISTRIBUTION: about 500 California species; terrestrial and found on living plants.
- MORPHOLOGY: 1.5-5 mm long. Head hypognathous with piercing, sucking mouthparts. Possess two, tubelike projections near the rear of the abdomen called cornicles. Membranous wings (forewing larger than hind wing) with reduced venation.
- DIET: Feed on plant fluids. Feeding aphids produce honeydew, a sugar-rich fluid expelled from the anus.
- REPRODUCTION: Wingless female practice parthenogenesis and are ovoviviparous. Adults later in the year reproduce sexually.Many aphid species are pests of crop and ornamental plants. Aphids are often tended by ants that protect the aphids from predation and parasitism in return for honeydew.
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PHYLUM ARTHROPODA, CLASS INSECTA, ORDER HEMIPTERA
- Family recognition (California, local): Aleyrodidae (whiteflies)
- DISTRIBUTION: dozens ??? of California species; terrestrial and found on living plants.
- MORPHOLOGY: 1-3 mm long. Adults resemble small moths. Wings and body covered with fine, powdery wax that is secreted by abdominal glands of the adult.
- DIET: Feed on plant fluids (phloem). Most specialize on one species of plant, but a few are more generalist feeders. The last larval (nymph) stage is inactive and often referred to as a pupa (= puparium).
- REPRODUCTION: Sexual or parthenogenetic; haplodiploid sex determination.Includes many important agricultural pests, especially those that vector plant viruses.Example local species Aleurodicus dugesii Cockerell, 1896
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