|
|
Insect Order Orthoptera - Crickets, Grasshoppers &
Katydids |
|
|
American Bird Grasshopper - Schistocerca americana
 Pygmy Grasshopper Family Tetrigidae |
 Katydid Nymph Orchelimum sp. |
 Crackling Forest Grasshopper Trimerotropis verraculata |
 Red-legged Grasshopper Melanoplus femurrubrum |
| There are more than 20,000 species in the order
Orthoptera. These diverse insects are found
worldwide, although their numbers are concentrated
in the tropics. They vary in size from less than 5mm
to monster-big grasshoppers over 4 inches long, with
10-inch wingspans. Orthopterans are some of the most
common insects in many landscapes, and the order
includes some of the most destructive agricultural
pests in the locusts and katydids. Most eat plants,
but some species are omnivorous. Females typically lay clutches of eggs either in the ground or on vegetation. Grasshoppers, crickets and katydids are all wee-known for their jumping ability as well as the singing performed by the males (females are generally silent.) Grasshoppers are almost all active in the daytime, but crickets are nocturnal. Katydids are thought to be nocturnal, but I see an awful lot of them out and about when the sun is shining. There are few places on earth where the calls of these intriguing insects are not heard nearly constantly during the warm months. The first fossil records of the order appear in the upper Carboniferous, or Pennsylvanian era, 310 - 290 million years ago. [1] |
Carolina grasshopper - Dissosteira carolina
 Scudder's Bush Katydid Scudderia sp. |
 Carolina Grasshopper Dissosteira carolina |
|
 Katydid Nymph Conocephalus sp. |
Female grasshopper found at 6500 ft. in the Rocky Mountains.
Melanoplus sp.
|
Metamorphosis: hemimetabolous,
paurometabolous. That is, a simple, gradual metamorphosis wherein the juveniles
are correctly termed "nymphs." Nymphs have similar appearance, habitat, and food
sources to the adults; they achieve sexual maturity and full wing structure at
the final molt. They share this form of metamorphosis with the Hempitera (true
bugs).
1. Gwynne, Darryl T., DeSutter, Laure, Flook, Paul, and
Rowell, Hugh. 1996. Orthoptera. Crickets, katydids,
grasshoppers, etc.. Version 01 January
1996. http://tolweb.org/Orthoptera/8250/1996.01.01 in The
Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/ |