Difference between revisions of "Ensifera" - New World Encyclopedia

Revision as of 15:25, 15 November 2008

Ensifera
Fossil range: Carboniferous - Recent

Katydid

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Suborder:	Ensifera

Extant Superfamilies and families

Superfamily Grylloidea
- Gryllidae - true crickets
- Gryllotalpidae - mole crickets
- Mogoplistidae
- Myrmecophilidae - ant crickets
Superfamily Hagloidea
- Prophalangopsidae
Superfamily Rhaphidophoroidea
- Rhaphidophoridae - camel crickets, cave crickets, cave wetas
Superfamily Schizodactyloidea
- Schizodactylidae - dune crickets
Superfamily Stenopelmatoidea
- Anostostomatidae - wetas, king crickets
- Cooloolidae
- Gryllacrididae - leaf-rolling crickets
- Stenopelmatidae - Jerusalem crickets
Superfamily Tettigonioidea
- Tettigoniidae - katydids, koringkrieks

Ensifera is a suborder of the order Orthoptera, comprising "long-horned" orthopterans commonly known as crickets, katydids (or bush crickets) and weta, and characterized in extant members by long, fine, and threadlike antennae that have well over 30 segments and can reach several times the body length. "Ensifer" means "sword bearer" in Latin, and refers to the typically elongated and blade-like ovipositor of the females, although several taxa have a reduced or absent ovipositor. There are more than 9,000 described species in Ensifera.

Members of Ensifera are sometimes collectively known as "long-horned grasshoppers" although this designation often is limited to members of the family Tettigoniidae (the katydids, also called bush crickets in some countries) and not the crickets or weta. More commonly, the designation grasshopper itself refers to members of the orthopteran suborder Caelifera, also known as "short-horned grasshoppers."

Ensiderans are particularly well known as singing insects, with the males calling mates via stridulation, either involving rubbing together portions of their forewings (katydids and crickets) or a femur-abdominal mechanism (some weta).

Overview and description

As members of the insect order Orthoptera, ensiferans are characterized by chewing/biting mouthparts, incomplete metamorphosis (hemimetabolism), strong hind limbs for leaping, and two pairs of wings that are held overlapping the abdomen at rest. The forewings are narrower than the hindwings and hardened at the base, while the hindwings are membranous and folded fan-like under the forewings when at rest.

Orthoptera includes two suborders, Caelifera (short-horned grasshoppers and locusts) and Ensifera (crickets, katydids, and weta). The Ensifera are typified by antennae longer than the body, while the Caelifera have antennae shorter than the body. Characteristics of Ensifera include fine and threadlike antennae with well over 30 segments (except the fossorial Cooloolidae), a sword-like or needle-like six-valved ovipositor (when present), and elongate mandibles with a prominent incisor (Gwynne and Desutter 1996). In singing families, there are stidulatory specializations of the forewings to make sounds and the auditory organs (when present) linked via modified tracheae to the enlarged mesothoracic spiracles. Members of both Caelifera and Ensifera are primarily herbivorous species, but Ensifera includes a few carnivorous species.

Behaviorally, members of Ensifera tend to be largely nocturnal (versus the more diurnal Caelifera)

Diurnal activity is prevalent in the short-horned grasshoppers, when they feed and mate, with nighttime activities including molting and egg laying (Grizmek et al. 2004). This is in contrast to katydids and crickets, which tend to be nocturnal (Grzimek et al. 2004).

Auditory organs are on the abdomen, unlike on the forelegs of the family Tettigoniidae. The true grasshoppers produce sounds by rubbing their legs against the abdomen, and there may also be a visual display.

The males of katydids have sound-producing organs (via stridulation) located on the hind angles of their front wings,

The classification of the suborder was drastically revised in December 2005 by the Orthopterists' Society.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Grzimek, B., D. G. Kleiman, V. Geist, and M. C. McDade. 2004. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Detroit: Thomson-Gale. ISBN 0787657883

Gwynne, D. T. and G. K. Morris. 2002. Tettigoniidae. Katydids, Long-horned grasshoppers and bushcrickets. Tree of Life Web Project Version 26 November 2002. Retrieved November 10, 2008.

Gwynne, D. T. and L. DeSutter. 1996. Ensifera. Crickets, katydids and weta. Tree of Life Web Project Version 01 January 1996. Retrieved November 10, 2008.

Gwynne, D. T., L. DeSutter, P. Flook, and H. Rowell. 1996. Orthoptera. Crickets, kaytdids, grasshoppers, etc.. Tree of Life Web Project Version 01 January 1996. Retrieved November 10, 2008.

External links

The Orthopterists' Society

Credits

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History of "Ensifera"

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@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 **[[Tettigoniidae]] - katydids, koringkrieks
 }}
-'''Ensifera''' is a suborder of the order [[Orthoptera]], comprising "longhorned" orthopterans commonly known as [[Cricket (insect)|cricket]]s, [[Tettigoniidae|katydids]] (or [[Tettigoniidae|bush crickets]]) and [[weta]], and characterized in extant members by long, fine, and threadlike antennae that have well over 30 segments and can reach several times the body length. "Ensifer" means "sword bearer" in [[Latin]], and refers to the typically elongated and blade-like [[ovipositor]] of the females, although several taxa have a reduced or absent ovipositor. There are more than 9,000 described species in Ensifera.
+'''Ensifera''' is a suborder of the order [[Orthoptera]], comprising "long-horned" orthopterans commonly known as '''[[Cricket (insect)|cricket]]s''', '''[[Tettigoniidae|katydids]]''' (or [[Tettigoniidae|bush crickets]]) and '''[[weta]]''', and characterized in extant members by long, fine, and threadlike antennae that have well over 30 segments and can reach several times the body length. "Ensifer" means "sword bearer" in [[Latin]], and refers to the typically elongated and blade-like [[ovipositor]] of the females, although several taxa have a reduced or absent ovipositor. There are more than 9,000 described species in Ensifera.
-Members of Ensifera are sometimes collectively known as "long-horned [[grasshopper]]s" although this designation often is limited to the katydids (also called bush crickets in some countries) in the family [[Tettigoniidae]]. More commonly, the designation grasshopper itself refers to members of the orthopteran suborder Caelifera, also known as "shorthorned grasshoppers."
+Members of Ensifera are sometimes collectively known as "[[grasshopper|long-horned grasshopper]]s" although this designation often is limited to members of the family [[Tettigoniidae]] (the katydids, also called bush crickets in some countries) and not the crickets or weta. More commonly, the designation [[grasshopper]] itself refers to members of the orthopteran suborder Caelifera, also known as "short-horned grasshoppers."
 Ensiderans are particularly well known as singing insects, with the males calling mates via stridulation, either involving rubbing together portions of their forewings (katydids and crickets) or a femur-abdominal mechanism (some weta).
+==Overview and description==
+As members of the insect order [[Orthoptera]], ensiferans are characterized by chewing/biting mouthparts, [[metamorphosis|incomplete metamorphosis]] (hemimetabolism), strong hind limbs for leaping, and two pairs of wings that are held overlapping the abdomen at rest. The forewings are narrower than the hindwings and hardened at the base, while the hindwings are membranous and folded fan-like under the forewings when at rest.
+Orthoptera includes two suborders, Caelifera (short-horned grasshoppers and locusts) and Ensifera (crickets, katydids, and weta). The Ensifera are typified by antennae longer than the body, while the Caelifera have antennae shorter than the body. Characteristics of Ensifera include fine and threadlike antennae with well over 30 segments (except the fossorial Cooloolidae), a sword-like or needle-like six-valved ovipositor (when present), and elongate mandibles with a prominent incisor (Gwynne and Desutter 1996). In singing families, there are stidulatory specializations of the forewings to make sounds and the auditory organs (when present) linked via modified tracheae to the enlarged mesothoracic spiracles. Members of both Caelifera and Ensifera are primarily herbivorous species, but Ensifera includes a few carnivorous species.
-==Overview==
+Behaviorally, members of Ensifera tend to be largely nocturnal (versus the more diurnal Caelifera)
-As member of the insect order [[Orthoptera]] (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, and locusts), tettigoniids are characterized by chewing/biting mouthparts, [[metamorphosis|incomplete metamorphosis]] (hemimetabolism), and two pairs of wings that are held overlapping the abdomen at rest. As with the other orthopterans, the the forewings are narrower than the hindwings and hardened at the base, while the hindwings are membranous and folded fan-like under the forewings when at rest.
+Diurnal activity is prevalent in the short-horned grasshoppers, when they feed and mate, with nighttime activities including molting and egg laying (Grizmek et al. 2004). This is in contrast to katydids and crickets, which tend to be nocturnal (Grzimek et al. 2004).
+Auditory organs are on the abdomen, unlike on the forelegs of the family Tettigoniidae. The true grasshoppers produce sounds by rubbing their legs against the abdomen, and there may also be a visual display.
+The males of katydids have sound-producing organs (via stridulation) located on the hind angles of their front wings,
-[[Image:Cricket.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Note the long antennae of this tettigoniid]]
-As members of the suborder [[Ensifera]], which also includes [[cricket]]s, the tettigoniids are characterized by fine and threadlike antennae with well over 30 segments (except fossil representatives), stidulatory specializations of the forewings to make sounds, auditory organs (when present) linked via modified tracheae to the enlarged mesothoracic spiracles, a sword-like or needle-like six-valved ovipositor (when present), and elongate mandibles with a prominent incisor (Gwynne and Desutter 1996).
 The classification of the suborder was drastically revised in December 2005 by the [[Orthopterists' Society]].
-''Tettigoniidae''' is a major family of "long-horned [[grasshopper]]s" in the suborder Ensifera of the order [[Orthoptera]], characterized by strong hind limbs for leaping, powerful mouth-parts for chewing, four tarsal segments, long and threadlike [[antenna (biology)|antennae]] (which have well over 30 segments and may exceed their own body length), stidulatory specializations of the forewings to make sounds, and a left over right overlap of the singing wings in males. Members of Tettigoniidae are known by the common name of '''katydids''' in the New World, Australia, and New Zealand, and '''bushcrickets''' in Europe, while the term '''long-horned grasshoppers''' also is used in some locations (sometimes in Australia and New Zealand as well), but sometimes also applies to members of Ensifera in general. Tettigoniids are closely related to the [[cricket]]s of the same Ensifera suborder.
 ==References==
+* Grzimek, B., D. G. Kleiman, V. Geist, and M. C. McDade. 2004. ''Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia''. Detroit: Thomson-Gale. ISBN 0787657883
 * Gwynne, D. T. and G. K. Morris. 2002. [http://tolweb.org/Tettigoniidae/13298/2002.11.26 Tettigoniidae. Katydids, Long-horned grasshoppers and bushcrickets]. ''Tree of Life Web Project'' Version 26 November 2002. Retrieved November 10, 2008.