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 weta. 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.
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Holometabolism, also called complete metamorphosis, is a form of insect development which includes four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and imago. Holometabolism is a synapomorphic trait of all insects in the superorder Holometabola. Immature stages of holometabolous insects are very different from the mature stage. In some species the holometabolous life cycle prevents larvae from competing with adults because they inhabit different ecological niches. The morphology and behavior of each stage are adapted for different activities. For example, larval traits maximize feeding, growth, and development, while adult traits enable dispersal, mating, and egg laying. Some species of holometabolous insects protect and feed their offspring. Other insect developmental strategies include ametabolism and hemimetabolism.
Murray Sheldon Blum was an American entomologist and a researcher in the field of chemical ecology.
The differential grasshopper is a species of grasshopper belonging to the genus Melanoplus. It is found throughout northern Mexico, the central United States and southern Ontario, Canada. It is considered a pest over most of its range.
Schizodactylus monstrosus or the maize cricket, is a species of large, robust cricket found in Asia, belonging to the family Schizodactylidae. It is found mainly in sandy habitats along rivers, and has large flattened tarsal extensions and wings that are curled at the tip, right above the cerci. They are nocturnal and show a high degree of variation in activity during the day and night. They hide in burrows that they dig on their own during the day.
Melanoplus femurrubrum, the red-legged grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper belonging to the genus Melanoplus. It is one of the most common grasshoppers found in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. This grasshopper is frequently used as a model organism in scientific studies, due to their abundance throughout North America and behavioral response to changes in climate.
Taeniopoda eques, the western horse lubber grasshopper, is a relatively large grasshopper species of the family Romaleidae found in arid and semi-arid parts of southwestern United States to central and southwestern Mexico. Most populations are identifiable by their shiny black bodies with contrasting yellow markings, but some adults are mostly yellowish, orangish or greenish. The species is unique in using its black coloration to thermoregulate and in being chemically defended. The aposematic coloration warns vertebrate predators of its unpalatability and allows the grasshopper to roost conspicuously upon shrubs.
Petasida ephippigera, the Leichhardt's grasshopper, is a relatively large, brightly coloured pyrgomorph species of grasshopper in the monotypic genus Petasida, native to the Top End region of tropical northern Australia.
Tropidacris collaris, the blue-winged grasshopper or violet-winged grasshopper, is a large South American species of grasshopper in the family Romaleidae. As suggested by its name, in flight the wings are usually conspicuously blue, but they can occasionally be grayish or greenish. Adult males are typically 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) long and females typically 8.5–10.5 cm (3.3–4.1 in) long; the wingspan is usually about 18 cm (7 in). The gregarious and flightless nymphs are aposematically colored in black, red and yellow and are presumed to be toxic; a researcher who tasted one noted that it was very bitter, similar to a monarch butterfly.
Schistocerca americana is a species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae known commonly as the American grasshopper and American bird grasshopper. It is native to North America, where it occurs in the eastern United States, Mexico, and the Bahamas. Occasional, localized outbreaks of this grasshopper occur, and it is often referred to as a locust, though it lacks the true swarming form of its congener, the desert locust.
Brachystola magna, the plains lubber grasshopper, western lubber grasshopper or homesteader, is a large species of grasshopper in the family Romaleidae, native to open and semi-open habitats of central and southern United States and northern Mexico.
Tropidacris is a Neotropical genus of grasshopper in the family Romaleidae. They are among the largest grasshoppers in the world by length and wingspan, reaching up to 14.5 cm (5.7 in) and 24 cm (9.4 in) respectively. They are variably colored in green, brown, black, reddish or yellowish, and have wings that usually are conspicuously blue or red in flight. The gregarious and flightless nymphs have bright aposematic colors and are presumed to be toxic; a researcher who tasted one noted that it was very bitter, similar to a monarch butterfly.
Cornops aquaticum is a semiaquatic species of grasshopper native to the Neotropics, from southern Mexico south to central Argentina and Uruguay. It feeds and breeds exclusively on members of the aquatic plant family Pontederiaceae, especially water hyacinth, and is being investigated as a possible biological pest control agent for the water hyacinth in countries where that plant is invasive.
Romaleinae is a subfamily of lubber grasshoppers in the family Romaleidae, found in North and South America. More than 60 genera and 260 described species are placed in the Romaleinae.
Caedicia simplex is a species of bush cricket or katydid, native to New Zealand and Australia. A common name is the "common garden katydid".
Taeniopoda is a genus of horse lubbers, fairly large grasshoppers in the family Romaleidae that are native to southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America. There are about 12 described species in Taeniopoda. Taeniopoda is very closely related to Romalea, leading some recent authorities to consider the former a junior synonym the latter.
Tropidacris cristata, the giant red-winged grasshopper, is a widespread species of lubber grasshopper in the family Romaleidae from tropical South and Central America, and Mexico. It is among the largest grasshoppers in the world by length and wingspan, reaching up to 14.5 cm (5.7 in) and 24 cm (9.4 in) respectively. More typical adult lengths are 5.5–7 cm (2.2–2.8 in), average 6.5 cm (2.6 in), in males and 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in), average 11 cm (4.3 in), in females. As suggested by the common name, adult T. cristata have conspicuously red wings in flight, although the exact red hue varies. The flightless and gregarious nymphs have aposematic dark-and-yellow stripes and are presumed to be toxic.
