Hemiptera is a diverse order of hemimetabolous insects. Members of this group are characterized by unique mouthparts modified to form an articulated beak (rostrum) for piercing and sucking liquid food. The Sternorrhyncha (aphids, whiteflies, plant lice, scale insects) and Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas, frog hoppers, leaf hoppers, plant hoppers, tree hoppers) feed almost exclusively on plant sap, while the Heteroptera (true bugs) contain many predators as well as plant feeders, scavengers, and parasites. TheColeorrhyncha (moss bugs), an obscure group from SouthAmerica, New Zealand, and Australia, probably feed on mosses.
Some of the plant-feeding hemipterans are significant pests, and a number of species act as vectors of viruses, bacteria, and fungi causing plant diseases.
Order Hemiptera are known as the “true” bugs.A few of their common species include: cicadas, white flies, aphids, leafhoppers, shield bugs, pond skaters, and more.They are one of the largest insect orders with about 82, 000 species found throughout the world.They are usually about one millimeter to fifteen centimeters in length.Their front pair of wings are leathery and thick while their back pair of wings are membranous.Only a few species are wingless.They have slender rostrums (beaks), which are usually used to suck sap out of plants.They can be terrestrial or aquatic.They have long five-segmented antennae and compound eyes.They have scent glands that give off a foul odor when the insect feels threatened.They undergo incomplete metamorphosis, which means they start as an egg, have a nymph stage, and then molt several times to become an adult.They can be found in the fossil record as far back as the Early Permian.
