The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include jumping wētā, cave wētā, cave crickets, camelback crickets, camel crickets, Hogan bugs, spider crickets, land shrimp, and sand treaders. Those occurring in New Zealand and Australia are typically referred to as jumping or cave wētā. Most are found in forest environments or within caves, animal burrows, cellars, under stones, or in wood or similar environments. All species are flightless and nocturnal, usually with long antennae and legs. More than 500 species of Rhaphidophoridae are described.
Acrididae, commonly called short-horned grasshoppers, are the predominant family of grasshoppers, comprising some 10,000 of the 11,000 species of the entire suborder Caelifera. The Acrididae are best known because all locusts are of the Acrididae. The subfamily Oedipodinae is sometimes classified as a distinct family Oedipodidae in the superfamily Acridoidea. Acrididae grasshoppers are characterized by relatively short and stout antennae, and tympana on the side of the first abdominal segment.
Bandwings, or band-winged grasshoppers, are the subfamily Oedipodinae of grasshoppers classified under the family Acrididae. They have a worldwide distribution and were originally elevated to full family status as the Oedipodidae. Many species primarily inhabit xeric weedy fields, and some are considered to be important locusts:
The Melanoplinae are a subfamily of grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. They are distributed across the Holarctic and Neotropical realms. They are one of the two largest subfamilies in the Acrididae. As of 2001 the Melanoplinae contained over 800 species in over 100 genera, with more species being described continuously.
The Romaleidae or lubber grasshoppers are a family of grasshoppers, based on the type genus Romalea. The species in this family can be found in the Americas.
The Tettigoniinae are a subfamily of bush crickets or katydids, which contains hundreds of species in about twelve tribes.
Gomphocerinae, sometimes called "slant-faced grasshoppers", are a subfamily of grasshoppers found on every continent but Antarctica and Australia.
Titanacris albipes, the purple-winged grasshopper, is a large species of South American grasshopper in the family Romaleidae. This species lives in the canopy of the Amazon rainforest and also extends into the Cerrado region in gallery forest; it is often attracted to artificial light during the night.
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 generally have bright aposematic colors and are presumed to be toxic.
Eumastacidae are a family of grasshoppers sometimes known as monkey- or matchstick grasshoppers. They usually have thin legs that are held folded at right angles to the body, sometimes close to the horizontal plane. Many species are wingless and the head is at an angle with the top of the head often jutting above the line of the thorax and abdomen. They have three segmented tarsi and have a short antenna with a knobby organ at the tip. They do not have a prosternal spine or tympanum. Most species are tropical and the diversity is greater in the Old World. They are considered primitive within the Orthoptera and feed on algae, ferns and gymnosperms, the more ancient plant groups.
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 cm (5.5 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 generally have bright aposematic colors and are presumed to be toxic.
Pyrgacris is a small genus of grasshoppers in the monotypic family Pyrgacrididae. The two species in the genus Pyrgacris are found only on Reunion Island.
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.
Copiocerinae is a subfamily of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. There are at least 20 genera in Copiocerinae, found in southern North America, Central America, and South America.
Leptysminae is a subfamily of spur-throat toothpick grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. There are at least 20 genera in Leptysminae, found in North, Central, and South America.
Moncheca is a genus of relatively large, colorful conehead katydids in the tribe Copiphorini, native to the Neotropics.
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 cm (5.5 in) and 24 cm (9.4 in) respectively, although more typical adult lengths are 6.5 cm (2.6 in) in males and 11 cm (4.3 in) in females.
Cornops is a genus of spur-throat toothpick grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. There are about six described species in Cornops.
The Ommatolampidinae are a subfamily of grasshoppers in the family Acrididae, found in central and South America, and based on the type genus Ommatolampis. Derived from the "Ommatolampides" used by Brunner von Wattenwyl in 1893, the first use of the name in its current form was by Rodríguez et al. in 2013; this taxon appears to be paraphyletic.
