Hemiptera

Hemiptera is an <a href="/facts/Order_(biology)/GKLJvIpt">order</a> of <a href="/facts/Insect/IgDNvnUL">insects</a>, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 <a href="/facts/Species/oDg6b96r">species</a> within groups such as the <a href="/facts/Cicada/cYYh0HVr">cicadas</a>, <a href="/facts/Aphid/kbvClSLl">aphids</a>, <a href="/facts/Planthopper/eVsj7Km9">planthoppers</a>, <a href="/facts/Leafhopper/uo0p1pF3">leafhoppers</a>, <a href="/facts/Assassin_bugs/K0IpYt99">assassin bugs</a>, <a href="/facts/Cimex/cBqBg7TC">bed bugs</a>, and <a href="/facts/Shield_bug/gCILoKBP">shield bugs</a>. They range in size from 1 mm (0.04 in) to around 15 cm (6 in), and share a common arrangement of piercing-sucking <a href="/facts/Insect_mouthparts/uNkLNKM8">mouthparts</a>. The name "true bugs" is sometimes limited to the suborder <a href="/facts/Heteroptera/S6wGuwrx">Heteroptera</a>.
Entomologists reserve the term bug for Hemiptera or Heteroptera, which does not include other arthropods or insects of other orders such as <a href="/facts/Ants/CyxckAAE">ants</a>, <a href="/facts/Bees/HglXpXty">bees</a>, <a href="/facts/Beetles/hv33fxsL">beetles</a>, or <a href="/facts/Butterflies/qlSgwlRx">butterflies</a>. In some varieties of English, all <a href="/facts/Terrestrial_animal/AhP2mont">terrestrial</a> <a href="/facts/Arthropod/JKJLTFzp">arthropods</a> (including non-insect <a href="/facts/Arachnid/xPJbsLga">arachnids</a> and <a href="/facts/Myriapod/JmufXFt7">myriapods</a>) also fall under the <a href="/facts/Colloquial/HvEweYjS">colloquial</a> understanding of bug.
Many insects with "bug" in their <a href="/facts/Common_name/3KNNezEU">common name</a>, especially in <a href="/facts/American_English/sdAfgPgM">American English</a>, belong to other orders; for example, the <a href="/facts/Lovebug/YDPcKFEQ">lovebug</a> is a <a href="/facts/Fly/ugzGBFKG">fly</a> and the <a href="/facts/Maybug/T70mdTI4">Maybug</a> and <a href="/facts/Ladybug/G178JasK">ladybug</a> are <a href="/facts/Beetle/hv33fxsL">beetles</a>. The term is occasionally extended to colloquial names for freshwater or marine <a href="/facts/Crustaceans/PBobIVJP">crustaceans</a> (e.g. <a href="/facts/Balmain_bug/7MKR9PJP">Balmain bug</a>, <a href="/facts/Moreton_Bay_bug/FnqJLvVN">Moreton Bay bug</a>, <a href="/facts/Mudbug/aXYaXaV8">mudbug</a>) and used by physicians and bacteriologists for disease-causing germs (e.g. <a href="/facts/Antimicrobial_resistance/jsbAywgx">superbugs</a>).
Most hemipterans feed on plants, using their sucking and piercing mouthparts to extract <a href="/facts/Plant_sap/cxdgQYP8">plant sap</a>. Some are bloodsucking, or <a href="/facts/Hematophagous/plcTvPFg">hematophagous</a>, while others are <a href="/facts/Predators/JEGdrX3f">predators</a> that feed on other insects or small <a href="/facts/Invertebrate/3CyqCVnN">invertebrates</a>. They live in a wide variety of habitats, generally terrestrial, though some are adapted to life in or on the surface of fresh water (e.g. <a href="/facts/Gerridae/c58XA5xm">pondskaters</a>, <a href="/facts/Corixidae/VMgywzNk">water boatmen</a>, <a href="/facts/Giant_water_bugs/kJNossUX">giant water bugs</a>). Hemipterans are <a href="/facts/Hemimetabolous/r30w37uA">hemimetabolous</a>, with young <a href="/facts/Nymph_(biology)/3LjQyPSG">nymphs</a> that somewhat resemble adults. Many aphids are capable of <a href="/facts/Parthenogenesis/gHzfaYpp">parthenogenesis</a>, producing young from unfertilised eggs; this helps them to reproduce extremely rapidly in favourable conditions.
Humans have interacted with the Hemiptera for millennia. Some species, including many aphids, are significant <a href="/facts/Agricultural_pests/mXGHJ8s7">agricultural pests</a>, damaging crops by sucking the sap. Others harm humans more directly as <a href="/facts/Vector_(epidemiology)/bepASE2M">vectors</a> of serious viral diseases. The <a href="/facts/Bed_bug/H4m2HbjR">bed bug</a> is a persistent parasite of humans, and some <a href="/facts/Kissing_bug/71JKxM9L">kissing bugs</a> can transmit <a href="/facts/Chagas_disease/C7rKMw5A">Chagas disease</a>. Some species have been used for <a href="/facts/Biological_control/khkjgaQw">biological control</a> of insect pests or of invasive plants. A few hemipterans, have been cultivated for the extraction of dyestuffs such as <a href="/facts/Cochineal/hYkz4pcd">cochineal</a> and <a href="/facts/Carmine/t3Q6sfUx">carmine</a>, and for <a href="/facts/Shellac/VNRrGF0r">shellac</a>. <a href="/facts/Cicada/cYYh0HVr">Cicadas</a> have been used as food, and have appeared in literature since the <a href="/facts/Iliad/HceJKUGB">Iliad</a> in <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greece/PTVBrWXq">Ancient Greece</a>.

Hemiptera open-in-new

Hemiptera