Lab 6

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Lab 6 Orthopteroids
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Orthopteroid Characteristics
1) Paurometabolous, simple metamorphosis
2) mandibulate mouthparts
3) large anal lobe in hind wing
4) cerci
Anal lobe
5) Numerous Malpighian tubules
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Orthopteroid Orders
1) Orthoptera (Crickets and Grasshoppers)
2) Phasmatodea (Walking Sticks)
3) Grylloblattodea (Rock Crawlers)
4) Mantophasmatodea (Gladiators)
5) Dermaptera (Earwigs)
6) Plecoptera (Stoneflies)
7) Embiidina (Web Spinners)
8) Zoraptera (Angel Insects)
9) Isoptera (Termites)
10) Mantodea (Praying Mantises)
11) Blattodea (Cockroaches)
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Phylogeny of Orthopteroid Orders
These orders are divided on the basis of
unambiguous molecular characteristics (Wheeler et
al. (2001).
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Order Orthoptera (Crickets and Grasshoppers)
Ortho straight, ptera wing

• Winged or wingless, 4 wings

• Thick elongate, veiny front wings (tegmina),
  broad membranous hind wings

• Elongate body

• Well developed cerci

• Primarily plant feeders, agriculture pests

• Many produce sound through stridulation

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Family Acrididae (Short-Horned Grasshoppers)

• Antennae less than half of body length

• Tympanum on the first abdominal segment

• short ovipositor

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Family Tettigoniidae (Long-Horned Grasshoppers)

• Antennae long as or longer than body length

• Often large and green

• Some are predators

• Tympana on tibia

• Sword-shaped ovipositor

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Family Gryllidae (Crickets)

• Antennae long

• Front wings bent down

• Needle-like ovipositor

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Family Rhaphidophoridae (Cave or Camel Crickets)

• Brownish and humpbacked in appearance

• Long antennae

• Live in caves and under stones, logs and other
  dark and moist places.

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Order Phasmatodea (Walkingsticks)

• Elongate stick-like body

• Wings much reduced or entirely absent

• Cerci short and one segmented

• Ovipositor short and concealed

• Nocturnal herbivores

• Some species parthenogenetic

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Order Grylloblattodea (Rock Crawlers)

• Slender elongate and wingless

• Eyes are small or absent, no ocelli

• Antennae long and filiform

• Long cerci

• Nocturnal, occurring at high elevation along the
  edge of glaciers or ice caves

• Feed on dead insects found on snow fields

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Order Mantophasmatodea (Gladiator insects)

• Recently described in 2001 (Zompro 2001)

• Both sexes wingless

• Antennae long and filiform

• Resemble immature mantids

• Short lived (few weeks), predators

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Order Dermaptera (Earwigs)

• Elongate body, somewhat flattened

• Front wings short leathery veinles (tegmina or
  elytra)

• Forceps-like cerci

• Cerci differ in males and females

• Feed on dead or decaying vegetable matter. Some
  feed on living plants and few are predators

• Nocturnal

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Order Plecoptera (Stoneflies)

• Aquatic nymphs, winged adults

• Somewhat flattened, soft body

• Two long cerci

• Wings held flat over abdomen

• Long antennae

• Nymphs can be herbivores, predators or
  omnivores, many adults do not feed

• Nymphs have branched gills on thorax

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Order Embiidina (Webspinners)

• Somewhat flattened, soft body

• Short and stout legs, noticeable cerci

• Front tarsus enlarged containing silk glands

• Females wingless, males winged

• Somewhat flattened, soft body

• Feed on dead plant material underground in web
  made galleries

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Order Zoraptera (Angel Insects)

• Similar in appearance to termites

• Winged or wingless, reduced venation

• Short and unsegmented cerci that terminate in a
  long bristle

• Feed on fungal spores and dead insects under old
  wood

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Order Isoptera (Termites)

• Organized, integrated societies, social

• Soft bodied

• Closely related to roaches and mantids

• workers and soldiers are both sexes, sterile
  casts develop from unfertilized eggs

• Detritivores, cellulose digesting, wood

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Order Isoptera (Termites)
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Order Mantodea (Mantids)

• Front legs modified into raptorial appendages
  for grasping and crushing prey

• Elongated prothorax

• Head is freely moveable

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Order Blattodea (Cockroaches)

• Flattened oval-shaped body

• Fast runners

• Head concealed from above by pronotum

• Detritivore pests, many are invasive pests from
  tropical regions

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FAMILIES TO KNOW
Acrididae (Short-Horned Grasshoppers)
Gryllidae (Crickets)
Tettigoniidae (Long-Horned Grasshoppers)
Rhaphidophoridae (Cave or Camel Crickets)
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1) Draw the head of a grasshopper and label all
the mouthparts.
2) Draw a male and female cricket.
3) Draw the abdomen and cerci of a Phamatodea,
Dermaptera, Embiidina and Blattodea.
4) Draw the nymph and adult of a Plecoptera.
5) Illustrate the difference between Zoraptera
and Isoptera.
6) Draw the raptorial appendages of Mantodea.