Hemiptera

Hemiptera, from the Greek for “half wings,” is an order of insects known as true bugs. It comprises about 80,000 described species that occupy a wide range of habitats worldwide, from forests and grasslands to freshwater and urban settings. Members include cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, treehoppers, aphids, whiteflies, scale insects, shield bugs, bed bugs, and many others. The group is ecologically diverse, with species that feed on plant sap, predate other insects, or live as parasites or social herbivores.

A defining feature of Hemiptera is the mouthparts: a piercing-sucking rostrum used to extract fluids from plants or animals. Many species feed on plant sap, while others are predatory or parasitic. The forewings of many hemipterans are partially hardened and called hemelytra, with a thickened basal portion and a membranous tip; hind wings are typically membranous. Hemipterans undergo incomplete metamorphosis (hemimetabolism): eggs hatch into nymphs that resemble smaller adults and molt through several instars to reach maturity, without a pupal stage. Some groups exhibit dramatic tendencies in life history, such as parthenogenetic reproduction in aphids.

Taxonomically, Hemiptera is commonly divided into three or four major groups, depending on the classification: Heteroptera (true bugs, including stink bugs, water striders, bed bugs); Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, treehoppers); and Sternorrhyncha (aphids, whiteflies, scale and mealybugs). Many species are of agricultural importance, as pests that damage crops or transmit plant diseases, while others are beneficial predators helping to regulate pest populations.