ORDER Homoptera


	Contact Information:
	Department of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology 250 Townsend Hall Newark, DE 19716 302/831-2526

Entomology and Wildlife Ecology Insect Database

ORDER Homoptera

Peters considers them members of the order Hemiptera

Meaning: Homo = same ptera = wing

Pronunciation: ho-MOP-ter-a

Common name(s): cicadas, aphids, scales, plant- leaf & treehoppers (or hoppers), spittlebugs, whiteflies

Mouthparts: piercing-sucking (from back of head between 1st pr of legs)

Wings: 2 pair of uniform, membraneous; many lack wings

Metamorphosis: paurometabolous - but with many complex life cycles (Parthenogenesis [=female sex only] and viviparous [= live birth] common)

Body characteristics:

piercing-sucking mouthparts - "beak" from back of head;

body shape (many) & wings folded like tent over body (if present)

Where found: on vegetation (herbivores)

Economic impact: most destructive insect order; many plant pests, a number of homopterans transmit plant diseases

Size of order: 45,000 species (6700 in N. America)

References: Peters (pg. 378-382 as order Hemiptera); several references as pests (see index pg. 443 under common names).

Links to other Homoptera Sites