Order Orthoptera - Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids

Classification

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

=Saltatoria

The treatment here follows primarily (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);>20,000 spp. total

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

Images needed for identification listed in (3)

Range

worldwide except very cold regions; most diverse in warmer climates

Life Cycle

Metamorphosis gradual; nymphs resemble adults, typically develop external wing buds, and live in the same habitat as adults. In most crickets and katydids, the female mounts the male for mating — apparently the primitive behavior in Orthoptera. Acrididae have a contorted mating posture with the male mounting the female.(4)

Remarks

many orthopterans exhibit a green-brown polymorphism, tending to be green during wetter seasons and brown in drier parts

Print References

Internet References

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Orthoptera checklist

Orthoptera of the Northern Great Plains

Grasshoppers of the Western United States

Works Cited