Hemiptera is a diverse order of hemimetabolous insects.  Members of this group are characterized by unique mouthparts modified to form an articulated beak (rostrum) for piercing and sucking liquid food.  The Sternorrhyncha (aphids, whiteflies, plant lice, scale insects) and Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas, frog hoppers, leaf hoppers, plant hoppers, tree hoppers) feed almost exclusively on plant sap, while the Heteroptera (true bugs) contain many predators as well as plant feeders, scavengers, and parasites.  The Coleorrhyncha (moss bugs), an obscure group from South America, New Zealand, and Australia, probably feed on mosses.

Some of the plant-feeding hemipterans are significant pests, and a number of species act as vectors of viruses, bacteria, and fungi causing plant diseases.

Hemisys - half; pteron - wing; referring to the fact that many of its members have the basal half of the fore wings thicker than the distal half.

Permian to Recent.

Order Hemiptera are known as the “true” bugs.  A few of their common species include: cicadas, white flies, aphids, leafhoppers, shield bugs, pond skaters, and more.  They are one of the largest insect orders with about 82, 000 species found throughout the world.  They are usually about one millimeter to fifteen centimeters in length.  Their front pair of wings are leathery and thick while their back pair of wings are membranous.  Only a few species are wingless.  They have slender rostrums (beaks), which are usually used to suck sap out of plants.  They can be terrestrial or aquatic.  They have long five-segmented antennae and compound eyes.  They have scent glands that give off a foul odor when the insect feels threatened.  They undergo incomplete metamorphosis, which means they start as an egg, have a nymph stage, and then molt several times to become an adult.  They can be found in the fossil record as far back as the Early Permian.

Derived characteristics:

• mandiblulary and maxillary stylets coadapted, containing alimentary and salivary canals, enclosed in segmented labium

Other characteristics:

• holocentric chromosomes

There are over 82,000 species of true bugs, including about 134 families, and they are found all around the world. Nobody knows exactly how many species there are in Michigan, but it is at least 2,000.

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native ); ethiopian (Native ); neotropical (Native ); australian (Native ); oceanic islands (Native )

Different kinds of true bugs can be very different sizes. The smallest are only a few millimeters long. The largest, the cicadas, can sometimes be 50 millimeters long.

True bugs have lots of different shapes. They may have long or short antennae having four or five segments. Their legs are adapted for grasping or for walking, and sometimes for swimming. Some can fly, some have lost their wings. Many true bugs have scent glands on the sides of the thorax. These glands make stinky chemicals that repel predators.

The mouth parts of true bugs have evolved into a long thin beak. They only eat liquid foods. The beak extends back between the legs to rest against the underside of the bug, and they swing it down and forward for use during feeding. The beak is made up of thin blades that are sharp at the end, and have a segmented cover. There are two channels in the beak, one spitting out saliva to keep the food flowing, and one for sucking in liquid food. Some true bugs can give a painful bite.

Adult true bugs have two pairs of wings, except for a few groups that have evolved to lose their wings. In one big group of true bugs, the front pair of wings are partly leathery, partly clear.

In most true bug species, males and females look similar.

Range length: 5.0 to 60.0 mm.

Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike

True bugs are found in nearly all land and freshwater habitats, except very coldest. The only group of insects that have evolved to live on the ocean are true bugs. True bug groups are most diverse and abundant in habitats on land that are moist and have a lot of plant life.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; polar ; terrestrial ; saltwater or marine ; freshwater

Terrestrial Biomes: tundra ; taiga ; desert or dune ; savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest ; mountains

Aquatic Biomes: pelagic ; lakes and ponds; rivers and streams; temporary pools; brackish water

Wetlands: marsh ; swamp ; bog

Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; agricultural ; riparian ; estuarine ; intertidal or littoral

True bugs take liquid food from plants or animals. Some suck plant sap, others dissolve seeds, some sip out the juice from cells in the leaves. Many true bugs are predators, stabbing their prey (usually other Insecta, sometimes other animals including vertebrates, like Mammalia and Aves, Gastropoda, or Aranaea) and sucking out their blood or body fluids. For example, stink bugs feed on Lepidoptera and some aquatic bugs feed on Cuculidae larvae. Bed bugs are a parasitic member of the true bug group -- the feed on mammal blood, including humans.

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Animal / honeydew feeder
superficial pseudothecium of Chaetothyrium babingtonii feeds on honeydew Homoptera

Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Crossocerus annulipes stocks nest with Homoptera

Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Didineis lunicornis stocks nest with Homoptera

Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Mimesa equestris stocks nest with Homoptera

Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Mimesa lutaria stocks nest with Homoptera

Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Mimumesa dahlbomi stocks nest with nymph of Homoptera

Animal / honeydew feeder
Seuratia millardetii feeds on honeydew Homoptera

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Animal / predator / stocks nest with
female of Dryudella pinguis stocks nest with Hemiptera

True Bugs are consumers. Some are herbivores, some are predators, some are parasites.

Since true bugs are so diverse and so common, they have many predators.

Different true bugs have different defenses against predators. Most true bugs have camouflage colors so predators can't see them easily. Many have glands that produce chemicals that smell or taste bad. This repels predators. If they have strong chemical defense, they may have warning colors instead of camouflage. A few true bugs mimic other more dangerous insects, like ants or wasps. Some of the predatory true bugs can bite. Adult true bugs will fly away if they can.

Known Predators:

• Aves
• Squamata
• Anura
• Bufonidae
• predatory Actinopterygii 
• Araneae (all kinds)
• Formicidae
• mantids
• Hymenoptera

Anti-predator Adaptations: mimic; aposematic ; cryptic

Hemiptera (hemiptera) is prey of:
Spermophilus tridecemlineatus
Araneae
Bartramia longicauda
Sturnella neglecta
Pooecetes gramineus
Spizella passerina
Spizella pallida
Eremophila alpestris
Anura
Thamnophis
Coleoptera
Diptera
Hemiptera
Nematocera imagines
Myiarchus
Tyrannidae
Cyanocitta stelleri
Leucosticte atrata
Anthus spinoletta
Calcarius mccownii
Calcarius ornatus
Calamospiza melanocorys
Asilidae
Saurothera vieilloti
Otus nudipes
Eleutherodactylus coqui
Eleutherodactylus richmondi
Eleutherodactylus portoricensis
Eleutherodactylus wightmanae
Melanerpes portoricensis
Todus mexicanus
Margarops fuscatus
Anolis evermanni
Anolis stratulus
Anolis gundlachi
Leptodactylus albilabris
Myiarchus antillarum
Vireo latimeri
Nesospingus speculiferus
Vireo altiloquus
Seiurus motacilla
Sphaerodactylus macrolepis
Parula americana
Dendroica caerulescens
Odonata
Hymenoptera
Eptesicus fuscus
Tyrannus dominicensis
Elaenia
Dendroica petechia
Coereba flaveola
Anolis gingivinus
Anolis pogus

Based on studies in:
Canada: Manitoba (Grassland)
Russia (Agricultural)
Puerto Rico, El Verde (Rainforest)
USA: Arizona (Forest, Montane)
USA: Montana (Tundra)
USA: California, Cabrillo Point (Grassland)
USA: Florida, South Florida (Swamp)
USA: Illinois (Forest)

This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.

Hemiptera (hemiptera) preys on:
Helianthus
Agropyron
Stipa
leaves
roots
Copepoda
Cladocera
Plectoptera
Odonata
Hemiptera
Psectrocladius
Rotifera
Chironomidae
shrubs
grass
herbs
alpine vegetation
Artemisia frigida
Bouteloua gracilis
Psoralidium tenuiflorum
Heterotheca canescens
Aristida purpurea
Carex
Pascopyrum smithii
Gutierrezia
Ratibida columnifera
Coleoptera
Collembola
Lepidoptera
live wood
fruit
fungi
live leaves
seeds
Auchenorrhyncha
Sternorrhyncha
Thysanoptera
Hymenoptera
Diptera

Based on studies in:
Canada: Manitoba (Grassland)
New Zealand (Grassland)
USA: Illinois (Forest)
Puerto Rico, El Verde (Rainforest)
USA: Florida, South Florida (Swamp)
Russia (Agricultural)
USA: Arizona (Forest, Montane)
USA: Montana (Tundra)
USA: California, Cabrillo Point (Grassland)

This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.

Like all insects, true bugs use scent and touch to communicate. They may also use their vision, but many species can't see very well. Many true bugs use sound and vibrations to communicate. The Cicadidae are one group of true bugs that are famous for the sounds they make. They gather in large numbers and form choruses, where thousands of insects call from one place. Their smaller relatives also communicate to each other. They don't have the special sound-producting organ that cicadas do. Instead they drum their bodies on branches and twigs.

Some species of true bugs are mimics, they pretend to be ants, and sneak into ant nests to eat ant larvae.

Communication Channels: tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

Other Communication Modes: duets ; choruses ; vibrations

Perception Channels: visual ; infrared/heat ; tactile ; acoustic ; vibrations ; chemical

True bugs go through a simple metamorphosis. After they hatch, the young bugs look very much like their parents, but they don't have wings. They grow and shed their skin five times. After the last time they shed, they have wings and are mature and can reproduce. They don't grow any more. In cold climates like Michigan, some true bug species survive the winter in the egg stage, some in the adult stage.

Some true bugs, like aphids, have more complicated life cycles, where females can give birth without mating during the summer, and then at the end of the summer, produce offspring that mate and go to another plant to spend the winter. In the spring their offspring go back to the original kind of plant and start the cycle again.

Development - Life Cycle: metamorphosis ; diapause

Most species live for a year or less.

Many true bugs lay eggs on the soil surface, under tree bark, in crevices, or on plants. Some give birth to live young. Some species of female bugs can reproduce without mating. There are no males in these species, they are all female and all can reproduce. Populations of these females can grow very quickly.

Breeding season: Mainly Spring and Summer

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; parthenogenic ; sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); viviparous ; oviparous

Often female true bugs guard their eggs and newly-hatched offspring to protect them from predators. Not all species do this though, some just lay their eggs and walk away.

Parental Investment: female parental care

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
                                        

Specimen Records:	84,614	Public Records:	40,235
Specimens with Sequences:	57,860	Public Species:	1,666
Specimens with Barcodes:	47,461	Public BINs:	7,233
Species:	8,170
Species With Barcodes:	5,079

Access Published & Released Data: Download FASTA File

Collection Sites: world map showing specimen collection locations for Hemiptera

Some species of true bugs feed on the blood of mammals, including people. Bed bugs are true bugs. One group of species in Central and South America carry a dangerous disease from one person to another. The bites and droppings of other species cause skin irritations.

Many plant-sucking bugs cause damage to crops and landscaping. For example aphids are major pests of many food plants.

Negative Impacts: injures humans (bites or stings, causes disease in humans , carries human disease); crop pest; causes or carries domestic animal disease ; household pest

A few true bug species keep harmful insects under control. In addition, gall-producing true bugs are potentially useful in controlling particular weed species.

Positive Impacts: controls pest population