Insects

Heteroptera and Homoptera

Several alternative classifications are in use for the Hemiptera-Heteroptera-Homoptera group of the Insecta. The classification adopted in Nomina Insecta Nearctica is to avoid the term Hemiptera and divide the complex into two orders Heteroptera and Homoptera. A commonly accepted alternative is to use a single order Hemiptera divided (in North America) into three suborders; Heteroptera, Sternorrhyncha, and Auchenorrhyncha. The Sternorrhyncha and Auchenorrhyncha are the two main subdivisions of the Homoptera in the sense of the Nomina Insecta Nearctica check list. This latter classification seems to be gaining in acceptance. However we are using the scheme adopted by Henry and Froeschner (1988) for reasons of compatibility with this catalog.

Classification of the Homoptera. This page contains a classification of the North American Homoptera to the generic level.

Classification of the Heteroptera. This page contains a classification of the North American Heteroptera to the generic level.

The Hemiptera or True Bugs. Gordon's Entomological Home Page. Gordon Ramel. A general introduction to the Heteroptera (Hemiptera) including a classification to superfamily, some pictures, and links to other sites.

Heteroptera. General Entomology 425. Jon Meyer. A general introduction to the Heteroptera.

Hemiptera (Heteroptera) (Bugs). F.W. Ravlin. A short introduction to the Heteroptera with a descriptive list of families.

Aquatic and Semiaquatic Hemiptera. D.L. Gustafson. An introduction to the aquatic Heteroptera with a bibliography.

Marine Insects. W.W. Hoback et al. Learn about the few insects that live in a marine environment, particulary the truly marine water striders of the genus Halobates.

Cicada Mania. Dan Century. A marvelous site about cicadas, particularly the 17 year locust. It has photographs, a section on cicada identification, information about broods, links, and humor.

Harmful Insects. Emily Davis. A short introduction to Cicadas.

Periodical Cicadas Emergence in Iowa 1997. Iowa State University Extension. It's too late to see this brood, but this article has a lot of information about the 17-year cicada.

Leafhoppers. G.R. Nielson. A short introduction to leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) concentrating on economically important species.

Aphids of British Columbia. Robert Foottit, University of British Columbia. This site contains general information about aphids as well as a list of the aphids of British Columbia. You'll also find some photographs, and partial keys to some genera.

Atlas of Aphids Trapped in Agricultural Crops. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. L. Gualtieri and D. McLeod. Technical descriptions of photographs of aphids commonly collected in agricultural crops in Canada with a glossary of terms and bibliography of aphid literature.

Scale Net. Douglass Millar and Yair Ben-Dov. Scale Net has general information on scale insects (superfamily Coccoidea), the life histories, distributions, classification, and economic importance. You may also query various systematic and bibliographic databases on some of the families of scale insects.

USDA Whitefly Knowledgebase. White flies are small insects of the family Aleyrodidae in the order Homoptera. Although this site is primarily dedicated to the pest species of the family, you can learn quite a bit about whiteflies here including basic biology, host plants and population dynamics. There is a key to pest species and an extensive set of references.