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| Suborder Homoptera: Cicadas, Hoppers,
Aphids, Whiteflies, Psyllids and Scale Insects Formerly placed in their own order, it was found these insects are not as closely related as once thought. --Table of Contents-- |
 Coelidia olitoria Family: Cicadellidae |
 Red-banded Leafhopper Graphocephala coccinea |
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 Leafhopper Xyphon flaviceps |
 Planthopper Anormenis chloris |
 Cicada Tibicen linnei |
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 Spittlebug Clastoptera proteus |
 Red aphids by the hundreds |
 17-year periodic cicada Magicicada sp. |
 Ladybugs prey on aphids Visit our ladybug pages |
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Insects in the order Hemiptera were historically placed into two orders, Homoptera and Heteroptera/Hemiptera, based on the differences in wing structure and the position of the rostrum. These two orders were then combined into the single order Hemiptera by many authorities, with Homoptera and Heteroptera classified as suborders. The order is presently more usually divided into four or more suborders, after it was established that the families grouped together as "Homoptera" are not as closely related as had previously been thought. Auchenorrhyncha contains the cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and froghoppers. The 12,500 species in the suborder Sternorrhyncha are aphids, whiteflies and scale insects. The suborder Coleorrhyncha (comprising the single family Peloridiidae), contains fewer than 30 species and is sometimes grouped with the Heteroptera (to form the suborder Prosorrhyncha). Heteroptera itself is a group of 25,000 species of relatively large bugs, including the shield bugs, seed bugs, assassin bugs, flower bugs and the water bugs. |
 Meadow Spittlebug Philaenus spumarius |
 Two-lined Spittlebug Prosapia bicincta |
 Planthopper Cuerna costalis |
 Planthopper French Guiana |
Herding aphids: ants tend an aphid "farm"
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Recent research suggests chemicals on ants' feet tranquilize and subdue colonies of aphids, keeping them close by as a ready source of food. The study sheds new light on the complex symbiotic relationship between the ants (order Hymenoptera) and aphids, hugely destructive insects in the order Hemiptera. It has long been known that certain types of aphids are herded and farmed by ants, and that the ants offer protection from other insect would-be predators (ladybugs and their larvae are perhaps the most prolific), in exchange for honeydew, a sugary secretion the ants eat. Ants have been known to bite the wings off the aphids in order to stop them from flying away with one of ants' staple foods. Chemicals produced in the glands of ants can also sabotage the growth of aphid wings. The new study shows that ants' chemical footprints also play a key role in manipulating the aphid colony, keeping it sedentary. The research, which was carried out
by a team from Imperial College London,
Royal Holloway University of London, and
the University of Reading and published
October 10, used a digital camera and
specially modified software to measure
the walking speed of aphids when they
were placed on filter paper that had
previously been walked over by ants. The
data showed that the aphids' movement
was much slower when they were on paper
that had been walked on by ants, than on
plain paper. |
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References 1. Thomas Eisner, Maria Eisner, and Melody Siegler, Secret Weapons: Defenses of Insects, Spiders, Scorpions, and Other Many-Legged Creatures (Belknap Press, 2005). 2. Gary A. Dunn, Insects of the Great Lakes Region (University of Michigan Press/Regional, 1996). 3. Imperial College London. "Herding Aphids: How 'Farmer' Ants Keep Control Of Their Food." Science Daily 11 October 2007 |
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