Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

National Moth Week photos of insects and people. Here's how to add your images.

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 BugGuide Gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Discussion, insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12

Photos of insects and people from the 2014 gathering in Virginia, June 4-7.

Photos of insects and people from the 2013 gathering in Arizona, July 25-28

Photos of insects and people from the 2012 gathering in Alabama

Photos of insects and people from the 2011 gathering in Iowa
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids (Orthoptera)

Order Orthoptera - Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Identification · Range · Life Cycle · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Two-Striped Grasshopper - Melanoplus bivittatus - Melanoplus bivittatus - female Machaerocera mexicana - male grasshopper ID - female 9014845 Acridid - Chortophaga viridifasciata Unidentified Grasshopper - Melanoplus bivittatus - female Melanoplus - female Trimerotropis saxatilis - male Restless Bush Cricket - Hapithus agitator - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Orthoptera (Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
=Saltatoria
The treatment here follows primarily Orthoptera Species File (1)
In this and related orders, some authors tend to elevate categories such as tribes, subfamilies, etc. to higher ranks, while others do the opposite or remain more conservative. This has lead to an ongoing, often very confusing, inconsistency and instability in the literature.
Explanation of Names
Greek orthos (straight) + pteron (wing)
Numbers
>1,200 species in 256 genera in our area (2); over 20,000 species worldwide
Identification
hind legs long, modified for jumping
forewings (tegmina) hardened, leathery, spread in flight, covering membranous hindwings at rest
cerci (appendages at tip of abdomen) unsegmented
pronotum usually with large descending lobes on sides
hind coxae small and well-separated
hind tibiae with two dorsal rows of teeth

Two major taxonomic divisions:
Caelifera - Grasshoppers and allies
Ensifera - Crickets, katydids and allies
Range
worldwide except very cold regions; most diverse in warmer climates
Life Cycle
Metamorphosis gradual (paurometabolous); nymphs resemble adults, typically develop external wing buds, and live in the same habitat as adults, typically taking the same food.
In most crickets and katydids, the female mounts the male for mating -- apparently the primitive (original) behavior in Orthoptera. Short-horned Grasshoppers (Acrididae) have a contorted mating posture with the male mounting the female, but the abdomen twisted strangely. (3)
Mating Melanoplus grasshoppers:
Print References
Hebard, M. (1934). The Dermaptera and Orthoptera of Illinois. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin, Vol. 20, No. 3: 125-279. (Biodiversity Heritage Library) (Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship)
Vickery, V. R. and D. K. McE. Kevan. (1986). The grasshoppers, crickets, and related insects of Canada and adjacent regions: Ulonata: Dermaptera, Cheleutoptera, Notoptera, Dictuoptera, Grylloptera, and Orthoptera. Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, 918 pp.(4) (Agriculture Canada) (PDF)
Internet References
Tree of Life
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Orthoptera Checklist
Works Cited
1.Orthoptera Species File Online
2.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
3.Field Guide To Grasshoppers, Katydids, And Crickets Of The United States
John L. Capinera, Ralph D. Scott, Thomas J. Walker. 2004. Cornell University Press.
4.The Insect and Arachnids of Canada. Part 14. The grasshoppers, crickets, and related insects of Canada and adjacent regions...
Vickery, V. R. and D. K. McE. Kevan. 1986. Biosystematics Research Institute, Agriculture Canada.
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by jvandyk, cotinis, John VanDyk, Robin McLeod, Jay Barnes, David Ferguson, Wisconsin Oecanthinancy, v belov, Arturo Santos
Last updated 30 July, 2020 - 1:35am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2020 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact