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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera)

Order Hemiptera - True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Internet References · Works Cited

Burtinus notatipennis Stal - Burtinus notatipennis

Empicoris sp. Assassin? - Empicoris orthoneuron

Widefooted Treehopper - Enchenopa latipes

Whalen site Hemipteran nymph white 2022 3 - Flatormenis proxima

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Includes Heteroptera (formerly treated as a separate order), Auchenorrhyncha and Sternorrhyncha (the latter two formerly considered parts of Homoptera)

Explanation of Names

Hemiptera Linnaeus 1758

'half-winged'; refers mainly to what is now Heteroptera, whose forewings are part leathery, part membranous

Numbers

~10,200 spp. in almost 1600 genera in our area (>4,000 spp. in Canada); worldwide, ~110,000 spp. described, ~200,000 estimated(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

Size

1‒100+ mm

Identification

See(6) for discussion of features separating major lineages and a list of latest identification aids.

Auchenorrhyncha & Sternorrhyncha(1):

Many groups covered in spines, setae (hair-like structures), or waxy coverings

Antennae with 3‒13 segments

Wings at rest held rooflike over the body

Beak arises from posterior portion of underside of head

Heteroptera(1):

Often dorsoventrally flattened

Typically two pairs of wings in adult: forewings (hemelytra) are part thick/protective, part membranous

Wings at rest held flat over the body, with membranous parts overlapping

Scutellum prominent

"Beak" arising from front of head

Antennae with 4‒5 segments

Many have thoracic scent glands

Range

Worldwide

Habitat

various, both terrestrial and freshwater

Food

All non-heteropteran members and most Heteroptera feed on plant juices; among Heteroptera, there are many exclusively predatory families (esp. aquatic and semi-aquatic) and major predatory groups in other families. Some suck vertebrate blood.

Life Cycle

metamorphosis incomplete

Internet References

Québec fauna(7)

Visual guide in (8) covers British Isles but may be useful

Works Cited

1.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.

2.	Hemiptera of Canada Foottit R.G., Maw H.E.L., Kits J.H., Scudder G.G.E. 2019. ZooKeys 819: 277‒290.

3.	Checklist of the Hemiptera of Canada and Alaska Maw, H.E.L., R.G. Foottit, K.G.A. Hamilton and G.G.E. Scudder. 2000. NRC Research Press.

4.	Encyclopedia of Entomology, 2nd ed Capinera J.L., ed. 2008. Springer, lxiii+4346 pp. (4 vols.).

5.	Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs of Canada and the Continental United States Thomas J. Henry, Richard C. Froeschner. 1988. Brill Academic Publishers.

6.	The systematics of the Hemiptera Forero D. 2008. Rev. Colombiana de Entomol. 34: 1‒21.

7.	Pilon et al. (1988‒2015) Entomofaune du Québec

8.	Bantock T., Botting J. (2010‒) British Bugs, an online identification guide to UK Hemiptera

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Hannah Nendick-Mason, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, Phillip Harpootlian, Lynette Elliott, Mike Quinn, Aaron Schusteff, v belov, Marci Hess, Arturo Santos
Last updated 25 January, 2025 - 2:41pm

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