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Hemiptera
This group of insects is very large, with around 75,000 species worldwide. Around 1,700 of these can be found in the British Isles. Many of them are very different from each other, but all of them have piercing mouthparts with which they can suck the juices from plants or animals - usually plants. Their mouthparts are contained in a beak (or rostrum) which is usually held underneath the body when not in use.
The Hemiptera are called 'true' bugs because everyone - entomologists included - tend to call all insects 'bugs'.
The Hemiptera includes four suborders:
- Auchenorrhyncha
- Coleorrhyncha
- Heteroptera
- Sternorrhyncha
A photograph of an adult Squash Bug (Coreus marginatus), a true bug.
Other names for (or types of) Hemiptera include:
- Bug
- True bug
Related terms
- Aphid
- Assassin bug
- Auchenorrhyncha
- Boxelder bug
- Chagas disease
- Cicada
- Coleorrhyncha
- Cuneus
- Heteroptera
- Homoptera
- Reflex bleeding
- Rostrum
- Sternorrhyncha
- Tymbal
- Zoonosis
Related groups of terms
Related pages on this web site
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