Definition: Mouthparts modified into long or short, sclerotized piercing devices that are used to penetrate the host/prey/substrate to gain access to food, and liquids are transported through the food canal with the aid of a pressure gradient created by a sucking pump.
Definition: The presence of short wings, not functional as organs of flight. Micropterous (used inconsitently in the literature) is here treated as a synonym of brachypterous.
