True bug facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
(Redirected from Hemiptera)
Hemiptera
Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale, a shield bug
Aphids
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Linnaeus, 1758
Suborders 

Auchenorrhyncha
Coleorrhyncha
Heteroptera
Sternorrhyncha

The true bugs are an order of insects. Biologists call true bugs the Hemiptera. There are around 80,000 species of true bugs. The word bug by itself can have other meanings.

There are many different kinds of true bugs, some of which are aphids, cicadas, planthoppers, shield bugs, and others. All of these are true bugs. Their size is from 1 mm to over 10 cm. All true bugs have similar mouthparts, which they use to suck up plant sap.

Features of true bugs

Bugs have piercing, sucking mouthparts: this defines the Hemiptera. They pierce plants with their long, tube-like mouth, called a proboscis or a beak. They cannot chew. The true bug pumps saliva through this mouth, to partly digest their food. It then sucks up the food, which is usually plant sap.

The name "Hemiptera" is from the Greek: it means hemi (half) and pteron (wing). Most true bugs have half of their front wings hardened and have the other half soft. These wings are called hemelytra (singular hemelytron), because they halfway look like the hard wings (elytra) of beetles. The hind wings are totally soft and are shorter than the front wings.

The antennae of bugs usually have five segments. The tarsi (foot parts) of their legs have three or fewer segments.

Images for kids

  • Fulgoroidea Crato Formation Brazil

    Fossil planthopper (Fulgoromorpha) from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil, c. 116 mya

  • Psocoptera

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  • Tibicen linnei

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  • Pentatomidae - Flickr - gailhampshire

    60px

  • Thysanoptera R.H (1)

    70px

  • Liposcelis

    40px

  • Ant-mimic predatory bug, Myrmecoris gracilis, on Yarrow

    An ant-mimicking predatory bug Myrmecoris gracilis

  • Aphid-giving-birth

    Aphid giving birth to live female young

  • Wasserläufer bei der Paarung crop

    Pondskaters are adapted to use surface tension to keep above a freshwater surface.

  • MicroveliaIndia

    Adult and nymph Microvelia water bugs using Marangoni propulsion

  • Chamaesyce celastroides var. stokesii (5490591549)

    Leaf galls formed by plant lice (Psyllidae), Chamaesyce celastroides var. stokesii

  • Common jassid nymphs and ants02

    Leafhoppers protected by meat ants

  • Reduvius personatus, Masked Hunter Bug nymph camouflaged with sand grains

    Masked hunter nymph camouflaged with sand grains

  • Pyrrhocoris apterus group

    Firebugs, Pyrrhocoris apterus, protect themselves from predators with bright aposematic warning coloration, and by aggregating in a group.

  • Indian collecting cochineal

    Cochineal scale insects being collected from a prickly pear in Central America. Illustration by José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez, 1777

  • Bed bug, Cimex lectularius

    Bed bug nymph, Cimex lectularius, engorged with human blood

  • Deepfried cicada

    Deep-fried cicadas, Cryptotympana atrata, in Chinese Shandong cuisine

  • Icerya purchasi 1435060

    Colony of cottony cushion scale, a pest of citrus fruits


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True bug Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.