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 wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grasshoppers, locusts, and close relatives; and Ensifera – crickets and close relatives.
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.
Cooloola is a genus of ensiferan orthopterans known as Cooloola monsters. It is the only genus in the subfamily Cooloolinae and family Cooloolidae of the superfamily Stenopelmatoidea.
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.
Hemiandrus is a genus of wētā in the family Anostostomatidae. In New Zealand they are known as ground wētā due to their burrowing lifestyle. Hemiandrus wētā are nocturnal, and reside in these burrows during the day. Ground wētā seal the entrance of their burrow during the day with a soil plug or door so that their burrow is concealed. Ground wētā adults are smaller than other types of wētā, with the unusual trait of having either long or short ovipositors, depending on the species. The name of this genus comes from this trait as hemi- mean half and -andrus means male, as the species where the female has a short ovipositor can sometimes be mistaken for a male. This genus has a diverse diet, depending on the species.
Ammopelmatus is a genus of insects in the family Stenopelmatidae, one of two genera of large, flightless insects referred to commonly as Jerusalem crickets. They are native to western United States and northwestern Mexico.
Ammopelmatus muwu is a species of insect in family Stenopelmatidae. It is endemic to parts of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties in the 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.
Stenopelmatoidea is a superfamily of insects in the order Orthoptera; in some older classifications this group was referred to as Gryllacridoidea.
Grylloidea is the superfamily of insects, in the order Orthoptera, known as crickets. It includes the "true crickets", scaly crickets, wood crickets and many other subfamilies, now placed in five extant families; some genera are only known from fossils.
Tettigoniidea is an infraorder of the order Orthoptera, with six extant families.
Ammopelmatus pictus, commonly known as Pictured Jerusalem Cricket, 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.
