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 South Africa and wētā in New Zealand. Prominent members include the Parktown prawn of South Africa, and the giant wētā of New Zealand. The distribution of this family reflects a common ancestry before the fragmenting of Gondwana.
The Phasmatodea are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, or bug sticks. They are generally referred to as phasmatodeans, phasmids, or ghost insects. Phasmids in the family Phylliidae are called leaf insects, leaf-bugs, walking leaves, or bug leaves. The group's name is derived from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, referring to their resemblance to vegetation while in fact being animals. Their natural camouflage makes them difficult for predators to detect; still, many species have one of several secondary lines of defence in the form of startle displays, spines or toxic secretions. Stick insects from the genera Phryganistria, Ctenomorpha, and Phobaeticus includes the world's longest insects.
The Acrididae 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.
The family Phylliidae contains the extant true leaf insects or walking leaves, which include some of the most remarkably camouflaged leaf mimics (mimesis) in the entire animal kingdom. They occur from South Asia through Southeast Asia to Australia. Earlier sources treat Phylliidae as a much larger taxon, containing genera in what are presently considered to be several different families.
The Phasmatidae are a family of the stick insects. They belong to the superfamily Anareolatae of suborder Verophasmatodea.
Phobaeticus is a genus of Asian stick insects comprising over 25 species. It includes some of the longest known insects, including Phobaeticus chani.
Diapheromeridae is a family of stick insects. They belong to the superfamily Anareolatae of suborder Verophasmatodea.
Phyllium is the largest and most widespread genus of leaf insects in the family Phylliidae. They can be found in the Indian subcontinent through to Southeast Asia and Australasia.
Pseudophasmatidae is a family of stick insect, in the suborder Verophasmatodea, commonly called the "striped walkingsticks". An important identifying characteristic is its mesothorax, which is never more than three times as long as the prothorax.
Necrosciinae is a subfamily of the stick insect family Lonchodidae, with its greatest diversity in South-East Asia.
The subfamily Pseudophyllinae contains numerous species in the family Tettigoniidae, the katydids or bush crickets. Sometimes called "true katydids", together with the crickets of suborder Ensifera, they form part of the insect order Orthoptera which also contains grasshoppers.
Bacillidae is a stick insect family in the order Phasmatodea and the suborder Verophasmatodea.
Aschiphasmatidae are a family of stick insects belonging to the suborder Verophasmatodea; they can be found in Indomalaya.
The Heteropterygidae is a family of stick insects belonging to the suborder Euphasmatodea; species can be found in Australasia, East and Southeast Asia. More than 130 valid species are descriebed.
Damasippoididae is a family of walkingsticks in the order Phasmatodea. There are at least two genera and about six described species in Damasippoididae, found in Madagascar.
Pachymorphinae is a subfamily of stick insects in the family Diapheromeridae. Genera are primarily found in Africa, Asia and Australia.
The Lonchodinae are a subfamily of stick insects in the family Lonchodidae found in: Australasia, Asia, Africa, Southern America and the Pacific.
Ramulus westwoodii is a species of stick insect first described by James Wood-Mason in 1873 and named in honour of John O. Westwood.
Lonchodidae is a family of stick insects, with more than 150 genera and 1,000 described species.
The Platycraninae are an anareolate subfamily of stick insects in the family Phasmatidae. Their known distribution includes southern, southeast Asia and Australasia.
