4.
ORDER Hemiptera: True bugs, hoppers, and whiteflies
Heteroptera: True Bugs
Etymology: Heteroptera, derived from the Greek “hetero-” meaning different and “ptera”
meaning wings, refers to the texture difference of the front wings which is leathery near the
base and membranous at the apex called hemelytra.
Hemimetabola - incomplete metamorphosis
The Heteroptera include a diverse assemblage of insects that have become adapted to a broad
range of habitats — terrestrial, aquatic and semi-aquatic.
Key Characters:
• Mouthparts form tubular proboscis (beak) at front of head
• Front wings (hemelytra) cross over to form “X”-pattern on back
• Triangular scutellum in centre of back
• Front wings leathery at base and membranous toward apex
Economic Importance:
• Plant feeding bugs are important pests of many crop plants.
• Predatory species are beneficial insects
• Chagas disease is transmitted to humans by Triatoma, an assassin bug.
• Bed bugs are urban pests
Major Families:
Miridae (Plant Bugs) — Most species feed on plants, but some are predaceous. This family
includes numerous pests such as the green plant bug (Creontiades dilutus) but also predators
like the green mirid bug, Cyrtorhinus lividipennis.
Lygaeidae (Seed Bugs) — Most species are seed feeders, a few are predatory. This family
includes the chinch bug, Oxycarenus laetus, a pest of cotton, Darth Maul bug Spilostethus
hospes and the big-eyed bug, Geocoris bullatis, a beneficial predator.
Big eyed bug Darth Maul bug
Pentatomidae (Stink Bugs) — Shield-shaped body with large, triangular scutellum. Most
species are herbivores, some are predators. All have scent glands which can produce an
unpleasant odour. One group of stink bugs called spiny soldier bugs are insect predators
Painted Stink bug Man Faced stink bug Predatory stink bug
Tingidae (lace bugs) Coreidae (squash bugs and leaf- Alydidae (broad-
footed bugs) headed bugs)
Rhopalidae (scentless Berytidae (stilt bugs)
plant bugs)
Terrestrial predators
Reduviidae (assassin bugs Nabidae (damsel bugs) Anthocoridae (minute
and ambush bugs) pirate bugs)
The major families of aquatic predators include:
Corixidae (water boatmen) Gerridae (water Nepidae (water scorpions)
striders)
Belostomatidae (giant Naucoridae (creeping Notonectidae
water bugs) water bugs) (backswimmers)
• Two families of Heteroptera are ectoparasites - bed bugs and bat bugs.
• Water striders in the genus Halobates are the only insects that are truly marine and
live on the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
• Some members of the family Largidae resemble ants. They live as social parasites in
ant nests, mimicking the ants’ behaviour to get food.
SUB ORDER - HOMOPTERA: Leafhoppers, planthoppers, treehoppers, cicadas,
aphids, psyllids, whiteflies, and scale insects
Etymology: Homoptera, derived from the Greek “homo-” meaning uniform and “ptera”
meaning wings, refers to the uniform texture of the front wings.
Hemimetabola or incomplete metamorphosis
Key Characters:
• Short proboscis emerges near back of head
• Wings held tent-like over abdomen
• Many with bristle-like antennae and a wedge-shaped head
• Cicadas are the largest members of the suborder. As nymphs, they live underground
and feed on the roots of trees and shrubs. Some species complete development in as
little as three or four years, but others have a 13- or 17-year life cycle.
• In contrast, the aphids are tiny, soft-bodied insects with multiple generations per year.
• Many species have complex life cycles involving more than one host plant.
• Winged and wingless forms of the same species may develop at different times of the
year.
• Asexual reproduction (parthenogenesis) is common and males are unknown in some
species. The scale insects are even more specialised.
• In most of the Homoptera, a portion of the digestive system is modified into a filter
chamber to ingest and process large volumes of plant sap.
• Excess water, sugars, and certain amino acids are excreted as honeydew.
Major Families:
Cicadidae (Cicadas) — Nymphs live underground where they
feed on the roots of trees and shrubs. Adults are the largest
members of the Homoptera. Males produce loud songs to
attract a mate.
Cicadellidae (Leafhoppers) — This is the largest family of Homoptera
and includes many pests of cultivated plants. Leafhoppers are important
carriers of plant diseases — especially mycoplasmas.
Membracidae (Treehoppers) — Ecologically similar to
leafhoppers, these insects have a large pronotum that extends
over most of the body. They often resemble thorns or small
twigs.
Cercopidae (Spittlebugs or Froghoppers) — Nymphs live
on plant stems and produce a frothy defensive secretion
around themselves. Adults are similar to leafhoppers in
size and general appearance.
Fulgoridae (Planthoppers) — This is one of eleven families classified as
planthoppers (superfamily Fulgoroidea). These insects are ecologically
similar to leafhoppers and treehoppers. Many species are oddly shaped and
cryptically coloured.
Psyllidae (Psyllids or Jumping Plant Lice) — Small, aphid-like
insects with 3-segmented beaks and 10 segmented antennae.
Many species are covered with a woolly layer of wax.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Psylla_alni.02.jpg
Aleyrodidae (Whiteflies) — Body and wings of adults are covered with
a white powdery wax. Nymphs attach to the undersides of leaves and
become immobile, resembling scale insects.
CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39889
Aphididae (Aphids, Plantlice) — Second largest family in the suborder
Homoptera. Many of these insects are pests of cultivated plants and
vectors of viral plant diseases.
Coccidae (Soft Scale insects) — Most species are sedentary during
most of their life cycle and secrete a protective covering over their
bodies.
Trivia
• Laccifer lacca, a scale insect, is the source of natural shellac.
• Dactylopius coccus, the cochineal insect lives on prickly pear cacti and is the source of
a bright red dye.
• Aphids in the subfamily Pemphiginae are gall-makers.
• Honeydew, excreted by many homopterans is a source of food for other animals.
Honeydew from a mealybug, Trabutina mannipara, is regarded as the probable source
of Biblical manna.
Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/60937-Trabutina-mannipara
• The ground pearls are a group of scale insects belonging to family Margarodidae and
live on plant roots. In some tropical species, the females form large wax cysts, often
bronze or gold in colour.
