You are here
Species
Hemiptera
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Some true bugs include blood-sucking bed bugs, kissing bugs, assassin bugs, ambush bugs, stink bugs, chinch bugs, backswimmers, water boatmen, and marsh treaders. Aphids, cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers and scale insects are also in this large group.
| 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/Hemiptera/ |
Order Hemiptera are known as the “true” bugs. A few of their common species include: cicadas, white flies, aphids, leafhoppers, shield bugs, pond skaters, and more. They are one of the largest insect orders with about 82, 000 species found throughout the world. They are usually about one millimeter to fifteen centimeters in length. Their front pair of wings are leathery and thick while their back pair of wings are membranous. Only a few species are wingless. They have slender rostrums (beaks), which are usually used to suck sap out of plants. They can be terrestrial or aquatic. They have long five-segmented antennae and compound eyes. They have scent glands that give off a foul odor when the insect feels threatened. They undergo incomplete metamorphosis, which means they start as an egg, have a nymph stage, and then molt several times to become an adult. They can be found in the fossil record as far back as the Early Permian.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Rhianna Hruska, Rhianna Hruska |
| Source | No source database. |
True bugs are found in nearly all land and freshwater habitats, except very coldest. The only group of insects that have evolved to live on the ocean are true bugs. True bug groups are most diverse and abundant in habitats on land that are moist and have a lot of plant life.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; polar ; terrestrial ; saltwater or marine ; freshwater
Terrestrial Biomes: tundra ; taiga ; desert or dune ; savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest ; mountains
Aquatic Biomes: pelagic ; lakes and ponds; rivers and streams; temporary pools; brackish water
Wetlands: marsh ; swamp ; bog
Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; agricultural ; riparian ; estuarine ; intertidal or littoral
| 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/Hemiptera/ |
True bugs take liquid food from plants or animals. Some suck plant sap, others dissolve seeds, some sip out the juice from cells in the leaves. Many true bugs are predators, stabbing their prey (usually other Insecta, sometimes other animals including vertebrates, like Mammalia and Aves, Gastropoda, or Aranaea) and sucking out their blood or body fluids. For example, stink bugs feed on Lepidoptera and some aquatic bugs feed on Cuculidae larvae. Bed bugs are a parasitic member of the true bug group -- the feed on mammal blood, including humans.
| 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/Hemiptera/ |
True Bugs are consumers. Some are herbivores, some are predators, some are parasites.
| 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/Hemiptera/ |
Since true bugs are so diverse and so common, they have many predators.
Different true bugs have different defenses against predators. Most true bugs have camouflage colors so predators can't see them easily. Many have glands that produce chemicals that smell or taste bad. This repels predators. If they have strong chemical defense, they may have warning colors instead of camouflage. A few true bugs mimic other more dangerous insects, like ants or wasps. Some of the predatory true bugs can bite. Adult true bugs will fly away if they can.
Known Predators:
- Aves
- Squamata
- Anura
- Bufonidae
- predatory Actinopterygii
- Araneae (all kinds)
- Formicidae
- mantids
- Hymenoptera
Anti-predator Adaptations: mimic; aposematic ; cryptic
| 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/Hemiptera/ |
In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Animal / honeydew feeder
superficial pseudothecium of Chaetothyrium babingtonii feeds on honeydew Homoptera
Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Crossocerus annulipes stocks nest with Homoptera
Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Didineis lunicornis stocks nest with Homoptera
Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Mimesa equestris stocks nest with Homoptera
Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Mimesa lutaria stocks nest with Homoptera
Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Mimumesa dahlbomi stocks nest with nymph of Homoptera
Animal / honeydew feeder
Seuratia millardetii feeds on honeydew Homoptera
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | BioImages, BioImages - the Virtual Fieldguide (UK) |
| Source | http://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/Homoptera.htm |
In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Dryudella pinguis stocks nest with Hemiptera
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | BioImages, BioImages - the Virtual Fieldguide (UK) |
| Source | http://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/Hemiptera.htm |
Hemiptera (hemiptera) is prey of:
Spermophilus tridecemlineatus
Araneae
Bartramia longicauda
Sturnella neglecta
Pooecetes gramineus
Spizella passerina
Spizella pallida
Eremophila alpestris
Corvus
Anura
Thamnophis
Coleoptera
Diptera
Hemiptera
Nematocera imagines
Myiarchus
Tyrannidae
Cyanocitta stelleri
Leucosticte atrata
Anthus spinoletta
Calcarius mccownii
Calcarius ornatus
Calamospiza melanocorys
Asilidae
Saurothera vieilloti
Otus nudipes
Eleutherodactylus coqui
Eleutherodactylus richmondi
Eleutherodactylus portoricensis
Eleutherodactylus wightmanae
Melanerpes portoricensis
Todus mexicanus
Margarops fuscatus
Anolis evermanni
Anolis stratulus
Anolis gundlachi
Leptodactylus albilabris
Myiarchus antillarum
Vireo latimeri
Nesospingus speculiferus
Vireo altiloquus
Seiurus motacilla
Sphaerodactylus macrolepis
Parula americana
Dendroica caerulescens
Odonata
Hymenoptera
Eptesicus fuscus
Tyrannus dominicensis
Elaenia
Dendroica petechia
Coereba flaveola
Anolis gingivinus
Anolis pogus
Based on studies in:
Canada: Manitoba (Grassland)
Russia (Agricultural)
Puerto Rico, El Verde (Rainforest)
USA: Arizona (Forest, Montane)
USA: Montana (Tundra)
USA: California, Cabrillo Point (Grassland)
USA: Florida, South Florida (Swamp)
USA: Illinois (Forest)
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/ |
Hemiptera is a diverse order of hemimetabolous insects. Members of this group are characterized by unique mouthparts modified to form an articulated beak (rostrum) for piercing and sucking liquid food. The Sternorrhyncha (aphids, whiteflies, plant lice, scale insects) and Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas, frog hoppers, leaf hoppers, plant hoppers, tree hoppers) feed almost exclusively on plant sap, while the Heteroptera (true bugs) contain many predators as well as plant feeders, scavengers, and parasites. The Coleorrhyncha (moss bugs), an obscure group from South America, New Zealand, and Australia, probably feed on mosses.
Some of the plant-feeding hemipterans are significant pests, and a number of species act as vectors of viruses, bacteria, and fungi causing plant diseases.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Katja Schulz, Katja Schulz |
| Source | No source database. |