Orthoptera is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and weta. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grasshoppers, locusts, and close relatives; and Ensifera – crickets and close relatives.
Acrididae, commonly called short-horned grasshoppers, are the predominant family of grasshoppers, comprising some 10,000 of the 11,000 species of the entire suborder Caelifera. The Acrididae are best known because all locusts are of the Acrididae. The subfamily Oedipodinae is sometimes classified as a distinct family Oedipodidae in the superfamily Acridoidea. Acrididae grasshoppers are characterized by relatively short and stout antennae, and tympana on the side of the first abdominal segment.
Bandwings, or band-winged grasshoppers, are the subfamily Oedipodinae of grasshoppers classified under the family Acrididae. They have a worldwide distribution and were originally elevated to full family status as the Oedipodidae. Many species primarily inhabit xeric weedy fields, and some are considered to be important locusts:
The grasshopper subfamily Acridinae, sometimes called silent slant-faced grasshoppers, belong of the large family Acrididae in the Orthoptera: Caelifera.
The Caelifera are a suborder of orthopteran insects. They include the grasshoppers and grasshopper-like insects, as well as other superfamilies classified with them: the ground-hoppers (Tetrigoidea) and pygmy mole crickets (Tridactyloidea). The latter should not be confused with the mole crickets (Gryllotalpidae), which belong to the other Orthopteran sub-order Ensifera.
Tetrigidae is an ancient family in the order Orthoptera, which also includes similar families such as crickets, grasshoppers, and their allies. Species within the Tetrigidae are variously called groundhoppers, pygmy grasshoppers, pygmy devils or "grouse locusts".
Schistocerca is a genus of grasshoppers, commonly called bird grasshoppers, many of which swarm as locusts. The best known species is probably the desert locust and trans-Atlantic flight may explain the biogeography of some locust species.
Acridoidea is the largest superfamily of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera with species found on every continent except Antarctica.
Pyrgomorphidae is a family of grasshoppers in the order Orthoptera; it is the only family in the superfamily Pyrgomorphoidea. Pyrgomorphidae is found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate regions, but the vast majority of the family's approximately 500 species are from Africa, Asia and Australia. Their name is probably derived from pyrgos meaning "tower": a reference to the form (morph) of the head in the type genus Pyrgomorpha and other genera.
Acridini is a tribe of insects in the subfamily Acridinae, of the insect family Acrididae and are sometimes called "silent slant-faced grasshoppers". It was firstly described as Truxalis Conicus in 1781
Eumastacoidea is a superfamily within the order Orthoptera, suborder Caelifera. The family has a mainly tropical distribution and have sometimes been called "monkey grasshoppers".
The Thericleidae are a family of grasshoppers within the order Orthoptera and superfamily Eumastacoidea. They have exceptionally stubby antennae even for the Caelifera, with most species have a characteristic "horse-headed" look in profile.
Phymateus aegrotus, sometimes called the blue bush locust or East African bush locust, is a pest species of grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae. Unlike "locusts" the adults are not known to change their morphology on crowding, but at the hopper stage, marching behaviour of small bands may occur.
Anacridium moestum, the camouflaged tree locust, is a species of grasshopper belonging to the family Acrididae, that is native to Africa south of the equator. It is similar in appearance to the Southern African desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria flavicentris. It is likewise brownish, large and slender, but mostly arboreal in its habits.
The Tanaoceridae are an insect family in the monotypic superfamily Tanaoceroidea in the suborder Caelifera. They are sometimes called desert long-horned grasshoppers.
Tettigoniidea is an infraorder of the order Orthoptera, with six extant families.
The Hemiacridinae are a subfamily of Acrididae in the Orthoptera: Caelifera. Species can be found in Africa and Asia.
The Pyrgomorphinae are a subfamily of grasshoppers in the family Pyrgomorphidae. Species are found in, especially the warmer parts of: Central and South America, southern Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Pacific Islands. The type genus is Pyrgomorpha and names dates from "Pyrgomorphiden" by Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1874. The first use of Pyrgomorphinae was by Krauss in 1890.
The Orthacridinae are a sub-family of grasshoppers in the family Pyrgomorphidae. Species are found in: Central America, Africa, Asia, Australia and certain Pacific Islands. The type genus is Orthacris and the taxon proposed by Bolívar in 1905.
Spathosterninae is a subfamily of grasshoppers, based on the genus Spathosternum. Within the monotypic tribe Spathosternini there are currently 3 genera and about 12 described species recorded from Africa, the Indian subcontinent, south-east Asia and north-east Australia.
