Entomology Reference Libraries
The Argema mittrei, more commonly known as the Comet or Moon Moth, is an endangered species. It is a native of Madagascar and that is the only place where one can observe them in the wild. This large silk moth can be bred in captivity and is one of the world's largest moths. Males have an average wing span of nearly 8 inches and a tail span of almost 6 inches. The lifespan of an adult...
A caterpillar is the larval form of a lepidopteran (a member of the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). Caterpillars are characterized by their long segmented bodies and many sets of "legs". They eat voracious leaf eaters and grow rapidly, During growth the caterpillar will shed its skin four to five times before pupating into its adult form. Caterpillars have six true legs...
Caelifera, a herbivorous insect, is a suborder of the order Orthoptera. Commonly called grasshoppers in English, the sub-order includes short-horned grasshoppers, grasshoppers and locusts. Characteristics The Caelifera have antennae that are shorter than the body, and short ovipositors. Those species that make easily heard noises usually do so by rubbing the hind femurs against the...
The superfamily Papilionoidea contains all the butterflies except for the skippers, which are classified in superfamily Hesperioidea. Some authors treat this grouping as a series (Papilioniformes) within a single superfamily that also includes the skippers. However, all are agreed that, although all the butterflies constitute a single monophyletic clade, a distinction needs to be made...
Katydid is the common name of insects belonging to the grasshopper family Tettigoniidae, which contains over 6,800 species. Katydid are also known as "long horned grasshoppers" and "bush crickets." The term "katydid" is used mainly in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. The name "katydid" comes from the sound produced by species of the N. American genus Pterophylla (literally "winged leaf")....
The insect order Neuroptera (net-winged insects) includes the fishflies, snakeflies, lacewings and antlions. The adults of this order possess four membranous wings, with the forewings and hindwings about the same size, and with many veins. They have chewing mouthparts, and undergo complete metamorphosis. There are three suborders: Megaloptera (dobsonflies, fishflies, and alderflies),...
Leafcutter ants are found in warmer regions of Central and South America. These remarkable social insects have evolved an advanced agricultural system. They feed on a specialized fungus that grows only in the underground chambers of the ants' nest. The ants actively cultivate their fungus, feeding it with freshly-cut vegetation and maintaining it free from pests and weeds. This is done by a...
The Luna Moth (Actias luna) is a large lime-green saturniid moth found in North America from east of the Great Plains in the United States to northern Mexico and from Ontario eastward through central Quebec to Nova Scotia in Canada. The caterpillar of this moth feeds on the leaves of birch, alder, persimmon, sweet gum, hickory, walnut, and sumac trees. The adults do not eat or have mouths,...
The Jerusalem cricket (Stenopelmatus) is a genus of large, flightless insects native to western United States, along the Pacific Coast, and south into Mexico. Because of its large, human-like head, it is commonly called the nino de la tierra (Spanish for "child of the earth"), or wó see ts'inii (Navajo for "skull insect"). It is also often called the potato bug, or alternatively the old...
The Orthoptera are an order of insects with incomplete metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, and katydids. Many insects in this order produce sound (known as stridulation) by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps. Their ears, located in the front legs, are interconnected in such a way that they are...
