Skip to main content

# 10: What is a bug?



Litinsects #10: What is a bug?

 Raise your hand 🤚 if you’ve ever used the words “insect” and “bug” interchangeably? I hate to break it to you, but you probably haven’t been using the word bug correctly. You see, bugs are a kind of insect but NOT ALL INSECTS ARE BUGS!

TRUE BUGS make up an order called HEMIPTERA. They can vary widely in their appearance but all share one basic feature: mouthparts modified into a stylet-like ROSTRUM, as you can see on the specimens pictured. Don’t worry, this isn’t some mutant species of legless bug, I just removed the legs so the entire rostrum is easily visible.

Now let’s learn some more about TRUE BUGS:

  • Examples of Hemiptera include: aphids, stink bugs, cicadas, bed bugs, scale insects, planthoppers, shield bugs, and assassin bugs
  • Hemipterans use their piercing sucking mouthparts to feed on a variety of fluids. Most are plant-eaters, using their rostrum to pierce leaf cells and extract plant sap. Some are predatory while others even feed on mammal / human blood 💉
  • A bug’s rostrum has two channels, one for moving saliva outward and the other for sucking liquid food inward. The saliva injected into the food source contains enzymes that actually begin digestion extraorally (outside the mouth)
  • Some bug names can be misleading... for example, ladybugs, love bugs and june bugs are all actually beetles, not true bugs
  • The other defining feature of true bugs lies in their life cycle. All bugs are HEMIMETABOLOUS, meaning they undergo INCOMPLETE METAMORPHOSIS. But that’s a cool topic for another post...
So I leave you with this public service announcement: BUG ≠ INSECT!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#8: Butterfly Wings

Litinsects #8: Butterfly Wings Have you ever heard that you shouldn’t touch a butterfly’s wings or it will die? Well why is that...? Who remembers what I explained yesterday about Latin names? Butterflies and moths belong to the group LEPIDOPTERA, from the Greek words lepis for scale and pteron for wing. You probably guessed it already: butterfly wings are covered in SCALES! (Anyone starting to see a pattern with the names here? 😉 ) Butterfly scales are actually modified, flattened SETAE (aka hairs) that either partially or entirely cover the wings of most species. Some look like roof tiles, like on this here monarch, while some look more thread-like Scales protect and insulate the insect, but underneath the wing is actually transparent! Some species, like the GLASSWING BUTTERFLY, lack scales and have totally amazing see-through wings! Scales are responsible for the coloration of butterfly wings in one of two ways. First of all, scales contain...
Post a Comment
Read more

#58: Tardigrades

Litinsects #58: Tardigrades Anyone recognize these weird-looking little guys? They are actually not insects, as a matter of fact they are not even arthropods but they are cool enough to deserve a post. These are TARDIGRADES, also known as water bears or moss piglets. They are best known for their bizarre abilities to survive some of the most extreme conditions imaginable... © Science Faction Images -As always, the name’s etymology describes them a bit. It comes from the Latin “tardus” meaning “slow” and “gradior” for “step/walk”. Their common name comes from the fact that their walk looks a bit like a bear’s -Tardigrades are a PHYLUM of animals consisting of around 1,300 species. (Side note: the TAXONOMIC LEVEL of a group has nothing to do with how many species it contains. For example phylum Arthropoda, a taxonomically equivalent category consists of around 1 million described species and possibly millions more not yet described!). -These animals are all microscopic, ranging in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

#60: Cockroaches

Litinsects #60: Cockroaches Cockroaches belong to the order BLATTODEA, which is derived from the Greek word “blatta” meaning cockroach. Did you know that the Blattodea contains cockroaches AND termites? That’s right; termites are actually considered a specialized group of cockroaches! They used to be classified in an entirely different order of insects but recent genetic studies found a closer relation to cockroaches than previously thought. -Roaches are characterized by their broad, flat bodies. They have long antennae and generalized chewing mouthparts. In contrast to many other insects, which have 3, cockroaches have only 2 ocelli (or simple eyes) -Most people consider roaches to be disgusting, disease-spreading pests. But of 4,500 species, only 30 live in human habitats and are considered pests -The common name is derived from the Spanish word for the insect, “cucaracha” -Cockroaches can be found in a wide variety of habitats around the world. Many live in the tropics but...
Post a Comment
Read more