orthoptera [straight wings]

 

grasshoppers, crickets, locusts

 20,000 species

                   

                                                                     Michel before coffee (sometimes after)

 

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Characteristics (click to expand/collapse)
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simple (gradual) metamorphosis

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most are winged (click to expand/collapse)
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fore are long, narrow & leathery

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hind are broad & membranous (folded, fanlike, beneath fore wings)

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flat against body at rest

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mouth - chewing,  regurgitates brown juice for defense (must be the coffee)

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auditory organs called tympana: grasshopper - abdomen; cricket - front legs

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antennae - can be long & conspicuous

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hind legs elongated for jumping

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"singing ability" by rubbing forewings (or hind legs & forewings)

 

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Forestry Application (click to expand/collapse)

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some crickets are pests of pine nurseries in the southern pine region of the US

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outbreaks of grasshoppers & locusts are a problem for range plants