The Hemiptera or true bugs are an order of insects comprising some 50,000 to 80,000 species of groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, bed bugs and shield bugs. They range in size from 1 mm (0.04 in) to around 15 cm (6 in), and share a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts. The name "true bugs" is often limited to the suborder Heteroptera. Many insects commonly known as "bugs", especially in American English, belong to other orders; for example, the lovebug is a fly and the May bug and ladybug are beetles.
The Miridae are a large and diverse insect family at one time known by the taxonomic synonym Capsidae. Species in the family may be referred to as capsid bugs or "mirid bugs". Common names include plant bugs, leaf bugs, and grass bugs. It is the largest family of true bugs belonging to the suborder Heteroptera; it includes over 10,000 known species, and new ones are being described constantly. Most widely known mirids are species that are notorious agricultural pests that pierce plant tissues, feed on the sap, and sometimes transmit viral plant diseases. Some species however, are predatory.
A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and are covered with hairs that facilitate the spreading of a secretion over their bodies that acts as a water repellent and carrier of pheromones. They undergo a partial metamorphosis, and have various host associations, varying from very generalized to very specific. Some species have a cosmopolitan distribution, or occur throughout the temperate and tropical regions. Some are pests or vectors of plant viruses and phytoplasmas. The family is distributed all over the world, and constitutes the second-largest hemipteran family, with at least 20,000 described species.
The light brown apple moth is a leafroller moth belonging to the lepidopteran family Tortricidae.
The Auchenorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains most of the familiar members of what was called the Homoptera – groups such as cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and spittlebugs. The aphids and scale insects are the other well-known "Homoptera", and they are in the suborder Sternorrhyncha. Lesser-known insects largely regarded as Homoptera are the Coleorrhyncha. However, the taxonomic status of the Hemiptera and Homoptera is currently under investigation and discussion. See Heteroptera and Prosorrhyncha for more information.
The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) is a planthopper species that feeds on rice plants. These insects are among the most important pests of rice, which is the major staple crop for about half the world's population. They damage rice directly through feeding and also by transmitting two viruses, rice ragged stunt virus and rice grassy stunt virus. Up to 60% yield loss is common in susceptible rice cultivars attacked by the insect. The BPH is distributed throughout Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, North and South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Their alternative host plant other than rice is Leersia hexandra.
A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, and exceeding 12,500 described species worldwide. The name comes from their remarkable resemblance to leaves and other plants of their environment and from the fact that they often "hop" for quick transportation in a similar way to that of grasshoppers. However, planthoppers generally walk very slowly. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are plant-feeders, though surprisingly few are considered pests. The infraorder contains only a single superfamily, Fulgoroidea. Fulgoroids are most reliably distinguished from the other Auchenorrhyncha by two features; the bifurcate ("Y"-shaped) anal vein in the forewing, and the thickened, three-segmented antennae, with a generally round or egg-shaped second segment (pedicel) that bears a fine filamentous arista.
The Cixiidae are a family of fulgoroid insects, one of many families commonly known as planthoppers, distributed worldwide and comprising more than 2,000 species from over 150 genera. The genera are placed into three subfamilies, Borystheninae, Bothriocerinae and Cixiinae with sixteen tribes currently accepted in Cixiinae.
Eurybrachidae is a small family of planthoppers with species occurring in parts of Asia, Australia and Africa. They are remarkable for the sophistication of their automimicry.
The brown marmorated stink bug is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, native to China, Japan, and other Asian regions. In September 1998 it was collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where it is believed to have been accidentally introduced. The nymphs and adults of the brown marmorated stink bug feed on over 100 species of plants, including many agricultural crops, and by 2010–11 had become a season-long pest in orchards in the Eastern United States. In 2010, in the Mid-Atlantic United States, $37 million in apple crops were lost, and some stone fruit growers lost more than 90% of their crops. It is now established in many parts of North America, and has recently become established in Europe and South America.
Derbidae is a family of insects in the order Hemiptera, the true bugs. It is one of the largest and most diverse families of planthoppers. It is widely distributed around the world, especially in the tropics, and with many species in subtropical and temperate regions.
Adelphocoris lineolatus, is commonly known as the Lucerne bug or the alfalfa plant bug, and belongs to the family Miridae. It is an agricultural pest causing vast amounts of damage to numerous crops, but primarily to alfalfa crops around the globe.
Trichopoda pennipes, common name feather-legged fly, is a fly in the family Tachinidae.
Cicadella viridis, the green leafhopper, is a species belonging to the subfamily Cicadellinae of the family Cicadellidae.
Metcalfa pruinosa, the citrus flatid planthopper, is a species of insect in the Flatidae family of planthoppers first described by Thomas Say in 1830.
Centrotus cornutus (thorn-hopper) is a species of "treehoppers" belonging to the family Membracidae.
The spotted lanternfly is a planthopper that is indigenous to parts of Southern China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and has spread invasively to Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Although it has two pairs of wings, it jumps more than it flies. Its host plants include grapes, stone fruits, and Malus species, although its preferred host is Ailanthus altissima. In its native habitat it is kept in check by natural predators or pathogens. It was accidentally introduced in South Korea in 2006 and has since been considered a pest. In September 2014, it was first recorded in the United States, and as of 2020 it is an invasive species in the Delaware Valley, northern Delaware, eastern Maryland, eastern Pennsylvania, southwestern New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, northern Virginia, and Ohio.
Epiricania melanoleuca is a moth in the family Epipyropidae. It was described by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher in 1939. It is found in India, where its larvae are external parasitoids of the sugarcane planthopper. It has been used in biological pest control against this pest.
Pochazia shantungensis is a species of planthopper in the family Ricaniidae. Another scientific name for it is Ricania shantungensis, more commonly known as the brown winged cicada This species is considered an agricultural and forestry pest. It is mainly found along the roadsides in the Zhejiang Province. Also found in orchards in the Shantung province. It has recently been classified as an invasive species within western parts of Korean and turkey.
Acanthaspis quinquespinosa is a species of assassin bug found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal and Tibet. It is a predator, and both nymphs and adults feed on termites, beetles, caterpillars and other insect prey.
