Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 8,000 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, the Tettigoniidae are the only extant (living) family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea.
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.
Mole crickets are members of the insect family Gryllotalpidae, in the order Orthoptera. Mole crickets are cylindrical-bodied, fossorial insects about 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) long as adults, with small eyes and shovel-like fore limbs highly developed for burrowing. They are present in many parts of the world and where they have arrived in new regions, may become agricultural pests.
A spermatophore or sperm ampulla is a capsule or mass containing spermatozoa created by males of various animal species, especially salamanders and arthropods, and transferred in entirety to the female's ovipore during reproduction. Spermatophores may additionally contain nourishment for the female, in which case it is called a nuptial gift, as in the instance of bush crickets. In the case of the toxic moth Utetheisa ornatrix, the spermatophore includes sperm, nutrients, and pyrrolizidine alkaloids which prevent predation because it is poisonous to most organisms. However, in some species such as the Edith's checkerspot butterfly, the "gift" provides little nutrient value. The weight of the spermatophore transferred at mating has little effect on female reproductive output.
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.
Tree crickets are insects of the order Orthoptera. These crickets are in the subfamily Oecanthinae of the family Gryllidae.
Gryllotalpa major,also known as the prairie mole cricket, is endemic to the United States and is the largest cricket in North America. Its natural habitat is temperate grassland and it belongs to the family Gryllotalpidae. It is threatened by habitat loss, and is currently only found in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Arkansas. Males of this species produce sounds by rubbing their fore wings together. They sing from special burrows they construct in the prairie soil to attract females for mating, and they can be heard at distances up to 400 m from the burrow. Males aggregate their acoustic burrows in a lek arena and are very sensitive to vibrations carried through the ground. Males communicate with neighboring males through vibrational signals, and the songs they project to flying females are harmonic chirps, rather than the trills produced by most mole crickets.
Panorpa communis, the common scorpionfly, is a species of scorpionfly.
Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms, "crickets" were placed at the family level, but contemporary authorities including Otte now place them in the superfamily Grylloidea. The word has been used in combination to describe more distantly related taxa in the suborder Ensifera, such as king crickets and mole crickets.
Acanthoplus discoidalis is a species in the Hetrodinae, a subfamily of the katydid family (Tettigoniidae). Like its closest relatives, Acanthoplus discoidalis variously bears common names such as armoured katydid, armoured ground cricket, armoured bush cricket, corn cricket, setotojane and koringkriek. The species is native to parts of Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Tetrix ceperoi, Cepero's groundhopper, is a member of the family Tetrigidae and is very similar to common grasshoppers. Grasshopper is defined as a "plant eating insect with long hind legs that are used for jumping and for producing a chirping sound". However, unlike the common grasshopper, the wings of T. ceperoi extend beyond its pronotum. The front wings have evolved throughout history to be stumps, and the back wings are very well developed. Thanks to the front wings only, T. ceperoi is capable of flying. Furthermore, T. ceperoi sports wide shoulders while covering its narrow abdomen beneath the pronotum. T. ceperoi are classified as Orthoptera, which describes crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts. Furthermore, these Orthoptera have incomplete metamorphosis, which also affects sexual dimorphism later. T. ceperoi reach an average length of about 10 millimetres (0.39 in). T. ceperoi is a multi-coloured ground dweller with the ability to blend into its surroundings. The ability of T. ceperoi to be different colours makes it able to evolve colour schemes better adapted to specific habitats. This cryptic nature of their outer layer provides protection from predators as it is able to blend into its surroundings. T. ceperoi is diurnal, which means it is solely active in the daytime. However, although it is diurnal, it continues to hibernate during a late nymphal instar or later on in life as adults.
Conocephalus fuscus, the long-winged conehead, is a member of the family Tettigoniidae, the bush-crickets and is distributed through much of Europe and temperate Asia. This bush-cricket is native to the British Isles where it may confused with the short-winged conehead. These two species are phenotypically similar; however, the distinguishing factor between the two is the fully developed set of wings the long-winged conehead possesses that allows for flight. In the short-winged coneheads the hind wings are shorter than the abdomen, causing the wings to be vestigial and the species is incapable of flight. For this reason it is hard to discriminate between the two species during the early stages of their life cycle before the wings have fully developed. The colouration of the conehead is typically a grass green with a distinctive brown stripe down its back, though there are some brown phenotypes.
Hemiandrus pallitarsis is a species of ground weta endemic to New Zealand. This nocturnal species hides in burrows during the day, and can be an important food for kiwi. They can be identified by a single foretibial spine, three prolateral spines, and four retrolateral spines on the mesotibia, and their tibia lacks a tympanal membrane. The female has an unusual appendage on her abdomen, and the male has blackened hooks on his last tergite. They have a two-year life cycle, and their diet is largely unknown. Unusually for an insect, the female shows maternal care towards her eggs and nymphs.
Formally, a nuptial gift is a material presentation to a recipient by a donor during or in relation to sexual intercourse that is not simply gametes in order to improve the reproductive fitness of the donor. Often, such a gift will improve the fitness of the recipient as well. This definition implies neutral gifts, costly gifts and beneficial gifts regarding the fitness of the recipient.
Cyphoderris strepitans, the sagebrush cricket or sagebrush grig, is a one of only a few surviving species in the family Prophalangopsidae. Three of these species are in the genus Cyphoderris and all three are endemic to North America. C. strepitans name is from the Latin word 'strepitans' which means 'making a great noise', refers to their calling song during the mating season.
Phyllopalpus is a genus of winged bush crickets, trigs in the family Trigonidiidae. There are about six described species in Phyllopalpus.
Camponotus castaneus, the red hazelnut carpenter ant, is a species of carpenter ant located in the eastern United States. It is a primarily orangish-red ant in the family Camponotus. Its workers are usually around 8-10 mm, and queens around 18-20 mm. As with most Camponotus species, camponotus castaneus has majors and super-majors, usually appearing in the second or third year of the colony's founding, majors are usually 10-14 mm, with super majors being around 13-17 mm. Camponotus castaneus has a generalist diet, feeding on insects and carbohydrates such as honeydew, which is easily accessible. The ant has a smooth thorax and abdomen, with 1 node separating them.
Caedicia simplex is a species of bush cricket or katydid, native to New Zealand and Australia. A common name is the "common garden katydid".
Hemiandrus maculifrons is a species of ground wētā endemic to New Zealand. They are nocturnal, carnivorous, and flightless orthopterans belonging to the family Anostostomatidae. Being a nocturnal species, individuals remain in tunnels in the ground during the day and emerge from their burrows after sunset to forage and hunt for small invertebrates. H. maculifrons is one of the smallest New Zealand weta species, averaging 15 mm in length and weighing 1–3 g. Unlike the tree weta and tusked weta, where sexual dimorphism is found in the form of male weaponry, ground weta only exhibit sexual size dimorphism: the females are larger than the males.
Karim Vahed FRES is a British entomologist. He is a professor of entomology and England manager at invertebrate conservation charity Buglife, and is an expert in crickets and bushcrickets (katydids).
