Order Orthoptera – grasshoppers & Crickets
Orthoptera means “ straight wings.” Orthoptera
Traits:
- Have leathery front wings, and underneath, expandable membranous hind wings that enable flight. Have long slender antennae.
- Have well-developed hindlegs designed for jumping and tough, leathery bodies.
- Have a prominent “saddle (pronotum)” that wraps over the body to cover the sides of the thorax.
- Have auditory organs (tympana) located on the abdomen (grasshoppers) or on the front legs (crickets and katydids). Known for their noisy “singing” produced by rubbing one body part against another, mostly mating songs of males.
- Include herbivores, predators, or omnivores with chewing mouth parts.
- Found world-wide, often in open habitats.
