![]() ![]() Grasshopper species can often be identified more easily by their chirping song than by examining them. The file has little ridges, so the effect is rather like rubbing a comb along a piece of card. The parts that are rubbed together are called the file and the scraper. One noticeable feature of this order of insects is their ability to 'sing' by rubbing one part of their body against another. Many orthopterans are flightless, and most are not good fliers, but some, such as the locusts, are famously able to fly in pursuit of food. Their preference for warmer weather is also seen in the fact that only around half a dozen species are found as far north as Scotland. Around 700 of these are found in Europe - mainly in the south - and only 30 species live in Britain. Most Orthoptera live in the tropics, and there are around 18,000 species of them. ![]() egg, nymphs, adult, without a pupal stage). These insects go through incomplete metamorphosis (i.e. This feature is also found in the cockroaches and mantids. The front wings of the Orthoptera (the word comes from the Greek ' ortho' meaning 'straight' or rigid, and ' ptera' meaning wings) look somewhat 'leathery', and the hind wings are clear. Their back legs are described as saltatorial. Some entomologists have suggested that the name Orthoptera should be changed to Saltatoria, from the Greek ' saltare', meaning 'to leap'. If you see a grasshopper in the grass, just try to touch it and you will see how well it can jump. In both crickets and grasshoppers, the hind legs are large in proportion to their bodies, and this enables them to jump really long distances. Once you've seen a cricket or grasshopper, you'll always be able to recognise them - they have sturdy looking bodies and large heads, and the pronotum (the region just behind the head) is large and saddle-shaped. Grasshoppers have short antennae in comparison to crickets.Ĭrickets, like this bush-cricket, have long antennae. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |