Anostostomatidae is a family of insects in the order Orthoptera, widely distributed in the southern hemisphere. It is named Mimnermidae or Henicidae in some taxonomies, and common names include king crickets in Australia and South Africa, and wētā in New Zealand. Prominent members include the Parktown prawn of South Africa, and the giant wētā of New Zealand. The distribution of this family reflects a common ancestry before the fragmenting of Gondwana.
The family Gryllidae contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets. Having long, whip-like antennae, they belong to the Orthopteran suborder Ensifera, which has been greatly reduced in the last 100 years : taxa such as the spider-crickets and allies, sword-tail crickets, wood or ground crickets and scaly crickets have been elevated to family level. The type genus is Gryllus and the first use of the family name "Gryllidae" was by Francis Walker.
Stenopelmatus is one of two genera of large, flightless insects referred to commonly as Jerusalem crickets. They are primarily native to Central America, and one species is known from Ecuador.
Ensifera is a suborder of insects that includes the various types of crickets and their allies including: true crickets, camel crickets, bush crickets or katydids, grigs, weta and Cooloola monsters. This and the suborder Caelifera make up the order Orthoptera. Ensifera is believed to be a more ancient group than Caelifera, with its origins in the Carboniferous period, the split having occurred at the end of the Permian period. Unlike the Caelifera, the Ensifera contain numerous members that are partially carnivorous, feeding on other insects, as well as plants.
Stenopelmatidae is a family of large, mostly flightless orthopterans that includes the Jerusalem crickets. Two genera: Ammopelmatus and the type genus Stenopelmatus are found in the New World. Oryctopus and Sia are Old World genera, and previously placed in their own subfamilies, but with the addition of new genera, current placement is as five tribes in the single subfamily Stenopelmatinae.
Ammopelmatus kelsoensis, commonly known as the Kelso Jerusalem cricket, is a species of insect in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is endemic to the Kelso Dunes in the United States.
Ammopelmatus muwu is a species of insect in family Stenopelmatidae. It is endemic to parts of San Luis Obisbo and Santa Barbara counties in United States state of California.
Ammopelmatus cahuilaensis is a species of insect in the family Stenopelmatidae. The species is found in the Coachella Valley and was described by Ernest R. Tinkham in 1968, in The Great Basin Naturalist.
Ammopelmatus navajo, commonly known as the Navajo Jerusalem cricket, is a species of nocturnal Jerusalem cricket in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is endemic to the United States, specifically Arizona, and found under rocks in loose soil. It is closely related to A. fuscus and they have nearly identical drumming patterns. They live one to two years as adults, but can die prematurely by parasitic infections, commonly by the horsehair worm.
Ammopelmatus nigrocapitatus is a species of insect in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is endemic to parts of Southern California.
Gryllacrididae are a family of non-jumping insects in the suborder Ensifera occurring worldwide, known commonly as leaf-rolling crickets or raspy crickets. The family historically has been broadly defined to include what are presently several other families, such as Stenopelmatidae and Rhaphidophoridae, now considered separate. As presently defined, the family contains two subfamilies: Gryllacridinae and Hyperbaeninae. They are commonly wingless and nocturnal. In the daytime, most species rest in shelters made from folded leaves sewn with silk. Some species use silk to burrow in sand, earth or wood. Raspy crickets evolved the ability to produce silk independently from other insects, but their silk has many convergent features to silkworm silk, being made of long, repetitive proteins with an extended beta-sheet structure.
Jerusalem crickets are a group of large, flightless insects in the genera Ammopelmatus and Stenopelmatus, together comprising the tribe Stenopelmatini. The former genus is native to the western United States and parts of Mexico, while the latter genus is from Central America.
Sia ferox is a species of cricket that lives in Indonesia. It belongs to the family Stenopelmatidae and the genus Sia.
Stenopelmatoidea is a superfamily of insects in the order Orthoptera; in some older classifications this group was referred to as Gryllacridoidea.
Ammopelmatus pictus is a species of Jerusalem cricket in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is found in parts of the Central Valley, Diablo Range, and Silicon Valley within California.
Ammopelmatus mescaleroensis is a species of Jerusalem cricket in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is found in the area around Mescalero, in the United States state of New Mexico.
Wētā is the common name for a group of about 100 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae endemic to New Zealand. They are giant flightless crickets, and some are among the heaviest insects in the world. Generally nocturnal, most small species are carnivores and scavengers while the larger species are herbivorous. Although some endemic birds likely prey on them, wētā are disproportionately preyed upon by introduced mammals, and some species are now critically endangered.
Stenopelmatinae is the sole subfamily in the family Stenopelmatidae. There are about 7 genera and more than 50 described species in Stenopelmatinae.
Ammopelmatus longispina is a species of Jerusalem cricket in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is found in North America.
