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Species
Orthoptera
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Order Orthoptera consists of grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets. More than 20, 000 species have been described. They vary from about five millimeters to eleven centimeters in length. They can be found throughout the world, but are more concentrated in tropical areas because they prefer warmth and sunlight. Species in deserts or grasslands tend to have wings and species inhabiting mountaintops or islands tend to be wingless. Their legs are long and made for jumping. Most males rub their wings or legs together to produce vibrations that can be picked up by another individual’s tympanum (ear). All of the species undergo incomplete metamorphosis. The nymphs usually molt four or more times before becoming adults. If a limb is lost, the nymph can regenerate it during the next molt. Orthopterans can shed limbs voluntarily if a predator grasps it or it gets caught in a spider web. They can be seen in the fossil record as far back as the Upper Carboniferous-Permian.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Rhianna Hruska, Rhianna Hruska |
Source | No source database. |
Orthoptera (orthoptera) preys on:
Helianthus
Agropyron
Agrostis
Stipa
leaves
shrubs
grass
herbs
Stipagrostis
Monsonia
Eragrostis
perennials
Schismus barbatus
seeds of other plants
Bouteloua gracilis
Carex
Sporobolus cryptandrus
Pascopyrum smithii
forbs
Ericameria nauseosa
Cleome serrulata
Liatris punctata
Descurainia pinnata
Atriplex canescens
Elymus elymoides
Picradeniopsis oppositifolia
Opuntia macrorhiza
Artemisia frigida
Kochia
lichen forb/shrub
Coleoptera
Diptera
Hymenoptera
Papilionoidea
Orthoptera
Araneae
misc. fur
fin
feather
Arthropoda
Eleutherodactylus coqui
Plantae
live leaves
detritus
Collembola
Isoptera
Auchenorrhyncha
Sternorrhyncha
Formicidae
Acari
Isopoda
Based on studies in:
Canada: Manitoba (Forest)
USA: Illinois (Forest)
USA: Arizona, Sonora Desert (Desert or dune)
USA: Arizona (Forest, Montane)
Namibia, Namib Desert (Desert or dune)
USA: California, Cabrillo Point (Grassland)
Puerto Rico, El Verde (Rainforest)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Orthopterans are hemimetabolous. Females lay eggs, and the babies that hatch out are called nymphs. They look a lot like the adults. As they grow they shed their exoskeleton (usually 5 or 6 times). The last time they shed they emerge as adults, and not until then do they have wings. In temperate climates with cold winters, it is usually the egg stage that survives the winter, though a few species survive the winter as nymphs or adults.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Orthoptera/ |
Mating System: monogamous ; polygynous
Key Reproductive Features: semelparous ; iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; year-round breeding ; parthenogenic ; sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous ; sperm-storing
Parental Investment: no parental involvement
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Orthoptera/ |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:20433
Specimens with Sequences:16408
Specimens with Barcodes:14102
Species:1753
Species With Barcodes:1597
Public Records:13169
Public Species:1013
Public BINs:1934
Negative Impacts: crop pest
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Orthoptera/ |
Orthoptera comprises more than 20000 species worldwide and 1044 species in Europe belonging to two suborders, Caelifera (grasshoppers) and Ensifera (katydids). This group of median-sized insects is well characterized by (1) long hind legs modified for jumping; (2) hardened, leathery forewings (tegmina) which are spread in flight and covering membranous hindwings at rest; (3) unsegmented cerci; and (4), a pronotum usually with large descending lateral lobes. Orthopterans are common in most terrestrial habitats, but are more diverse in the tropics. They are mostly phytophagous and include some outstanding agricultural pests (locusts and certain katydids).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Katja Schulz, Katja Schulz |
Source | http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.4.68 |
They're the background sound of a deep summer day, a sonic shorthand for sunshine and ease: cricket chirps and katydid buzzes and grasshopper rattles, ever-present and seemingly endless.
Yet for all their ubiquity, these creatures -- taxonomically grouped as Orthoptera, the calling insects -- are little appreciated. Bees are beloved for their industry, butterflies for their beauty and even ants for their social intricacy, but Orthoptera has few devotees. We hear them but don't know them.
License | http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Bob Corrigan, Bob Corrigan |
Source | http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/08/calling-insects/ |
The insect order Orthoptera includes familiar insects like grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, and katydids. The members of this group are readily identified by their strong hind legs which are modified for jumping. Orthopterans are well known for their ability to produce sound. Crickets and katydids sing by rubbing their front wings together; while grasshoppers and locusts scrape their legs against their forewings to produce their songs.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Katja Schulz, Katja Schulz |
Source | No source database. |