EXPERIMENT:

IMPORTANT CHARACTERS OF ORDERS ORTHOPTERA,

DICTYOPTERA AND THEIR FAMILIES OF AGRICULTURAL
IMPORTANCE

Aim:
To study the identifying characters of
Orthoptera, Dictyoptera and their families of
agricultural importance.
 ORTHOPTERA: Orthos = straight, Pteron = wings
(Straight winged insects eg. Crickets, grasshoppers, locusts etc.)

CHARACTERS
 Usually medium or large sized insects with
elongated body.
 Head is hypognathous or prognathous usually
with filiform antennae.
 with one pair of large compound eye and three
oceli
 Biting and chewing mouth parts with well developed mandibles.

1. Labrum 4. Labium
2. Mandibles 5. Maxillary Palps
3. Labial Palps 6. Maxillae
7. compound eye 8. ocelli
compound eye
Possess filiform antenna but sometime clavate (club-
shaped), serrate (Saw like), or pectinate (Comb shaped)

Large pronotum present, which form major

part of thorax. It covers the dorsal surface of
thorax

LEG
• The hind legs are modified for jumping called
saltatorial leg.
• The femur is large and expanded basally to
accommodate large muscles.
• The tibia is long, slender and bent basally so that it
can be held against the femur; the jump is afforded by
contraction of the femoral muscles with a rapid and
forceful straightening out of the femur and tibia at
their joint.
• Fossorial legs are common in ground-dwelling insects
such as mole crickets. In insects with fossorial legs
the fore legs and tibiae are specialized for digging.
 WING
• Fore wings are generally long and
Tegmina
narrow, many veined and highly
thicken or leathery referred to as
tegmina.
• The hind wings are membranous,
broad, many veined and when at
rest are usually folded fanwise
beneath the front wing.
• The abdomen is 11 segmented, female with well developed
ovipositor.
• In both sexes the 11th abdominal segment consists of a
median dorsal plate called epiproct and a one pair of
lateroventral plates called paraproct.
• A pair of short unsegmented cerci present which developed
from paraproct
Auditory or tympanal (auditory) organs are also well
developed and are located on either side of the first
abdominal segment or at the base of fore tibiae.

Tympanum
 Specialized stridulatory organs are present

Sound produced by the Orthopterans in two ways.

Alary type (related to wing)
 The crickets and Long horned grasshoppers produce sound by rubbing
a sharp edge (Scraper) at the base of one front wing along a file like
ridge (the file)on the ventral side of the other front wing.
 The bases of the front wing at rest lie one above another.
 Both front wings possess a file and scraper.
 When the song is produced the front wings are elevated and moved back
and forth, generally only closing stroke of wings produce a sound.
Femoro-alary type
 This type of sound producing organ is well developed in short horn
grasshopper and locust.
 On the inner side of each hind femur it possess row of spine like
projection or structure, that is rubbed against hard radial veins of
corresponding tegmina when wing are closed at resting position of
insects.
 Sound is produced due to friction.
 Sound production is based on aggregation or pair formation and plays a
role in courtship, in copulatory and post copulatory behaviour.

Stridulatory organ of a grasshopper

Stridulation scrape of the grasshopper situated on the inner
side of the hind femur.
Metamorphosis simple or incomplete. Nymphs resemble adults.
 Family Acrididae (Grasshoppers or locusts)

Characters
• Filiform (threadlike) antennae much shorter than body
• Hind legs modified for jumping (saltatorial leg).
• The ovipositor of females is shorter and the tarsi are three
segmented.
• Grasshopper usually lay eggs in soil and frequently in grass sod.
• The auditory organs are located on the sides of the first
abdominal segment.
• Pronotum does not extend beyond base of wings.
• Wings usually well-developed, but short (brachypterous) or
absent (apterous) in some species, and wing length may be
variable within a single species.
• Most of the species pass their winter in egg stage and hatching
occurs in spring.
• They feed on a wide array of green plants and are some of the
most serious agricultural pests.
 Order Dictyoptera – (Roaches and Mantids)

Characteristics:
• Dictyoptera means "network wings," referring to the visible
network of veins present in the wings.
• Cockroach and mantid, both have leathery forewings. Called
tegmina, these wings appear roof-shaped over the abdomen.
• Two pairs of legs, the middle and hind sets, appear similar -
long, spiny, and made for running.
• The tarsi five segmented.
• Dictyopterans have chewing mouthparts.
• Long filiform antennae.
• Members of this order undergo incomplete or simple
metamorphosis with three stages of development:
egg, nymph, and adult.
• The female lays eggs in groups, and then encases them in
foam which hardens into a protective capsule, or ootheca.
Family- Mantidae (praying mantids)

European mantis (Mantis religiosa),

Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina).
Characteristics
 Praying mantids are large size
 characteristic way of standing with forelegs held together as if they were praying.
 Having elongated body.
 Raptorial (adapted for catching and holding prey) front legs with one or two rows of
spines. The remaining four legs are mostly long and slender.
 2 pairs of wings, both of which are used in flight
 Forewings protectively hardened to cover the membranous hind wings when at rest
 The head is usually distinctive and triangular in shape. The head is attached to a very
thin, flexible neck and is capable of turning nearly all the way around.
 Large compound eyes and three simple eyes.
 The chewing mouthparts are usually directed downward (hypognathus).
 filiform (thin and thread-like) antennae.
 The female lays her eggs in a foamy substance that hardens into a distinctive case. This
egg case known as an ootheca may contain up to 400 eggs depending on the species.
 The nymphs hatch resembling small adults
 There is one generation in one year.
 Tympanal organ (ear) located in the middle of the thorax near the abdomen.
 Praying mantids are carnivorous as both adults and nymphs and eat a wide variety of
insects.
 Praying mantids exhibit camouflage (cryptic colouration) to protect them from predators
that hunt them for food.
 Prothorax large and its notum extend laterally to conceal a great deal of
propleurons. Meso and metathorax closely associated to form pterothorax and its
notum is divided into prescutum, scutum and scutellum.
 Winged or wingless. If winged, the wings are straight, front wings are long and
narrow, many veined, some what thickened and are known as tegmina. Hind
wings are membranous, broad, many veined and when at rest folded fan like
beneath the forewings. Well developed anal vein is present in hindwings.
 Specialized stridulatory organs are present.
 Auditory or tympanal organs are also well developed and are located on either
side of the first abdominal segment or at the base of fore tibiae.
 Legs normally developed, or fore legs modified for digging (fossorial) as in mole
crickets or hind legs modified for jumping (saltatorial) as in grasshopper. Tarsi 3 or
4 segmented.
 Male genitalia concealed by the boat shaped 9th abdominal sternum.
 Females with well developed ovipositor with 3 pairs of valves which are useful for
inserting the eggs in soil.
 Anal cerci well developed, usually short and unsegmented.
 Metamorphosis simple or incomplete. Nymphs resemble adults.
 Simple Metamorphosis

Egg

Nymphs
Adult
– has full-size wings,
functional reproductive
system
 Simple Metamorphosis

Nymphs

Molt Molt

Instar Instar
 Simple Metamorphosis

Egg

Nymphs
Usually 4-6 instars, Adult
resemble adults, – has full-size wings,
smaller size functional reproductive
system
Same food and environment for nymphs and adults
 Simple Metamorphosis

Egg

Nymphs
Adult
– has full-size wings,
functional reproductive
system
Grasshopper forewings are tough
opaque tegmina, narrow
and covering the hind wings and
abdomen at rest. Hind wings are
board membranous and folded in
fan-like manner.

Costa (C) -- at the leading marginal of the forewing and hind wing, unbranched.
Subcosta (Sc) -- second longitudinal vein, unbranched.
Radius (R) -- third longitudinal vein, branched to Rs in forewing and hind wing.
Media anterior (MA) -- fourth longitudinal vein, branched in basal part as Media
posterior (MP).
Cubitus (Cu) -- fifth longitudinal vein, on forewing and hind wing dividing near the
wing base into branched CuA, and unbranched CuP.
Anal veins (A) -- veins behind the cubitus, unbranched, two in forewing, many in
hind wing.
Stridulatory organ of a grasshopper
Stridulation scrape of the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus
situated on the inner side of the hind femur.
Family: Acrididae (Short horned grasshopper)
1. Antennae filiform shorter than the body with less than 30 segments.
2 .Pronotum saddle shaped.
3 .Auditory or tympanal organs situated one on either side of 1st abdominal segment.
4. Stridulation femoro – alary type. The ridge on inner side of hind femur with peg like projections (acting
like a file) is rubbed against the hardend radial vein of tegmina.
5. Hind legs modified for jumping. Tarsus 3 segmented.
6. Ovipositor short and well developed. Its valves are short and curved.
Family: Tettigonidae (Long horned grasshopper& Katydids)
1. Cryptic colouration
2. Antenna as long as or longer than the body
3. Tarsus 4 segmented
4. Stridulation - alary type
5. Mainly herbivorous but some carnivorous.