Insects of the Order Hemiptera

At first, my friend said this was a stink bug, but when I held it, it didn't smell bad at all. Someone also said it was a shield bug, but after searching online, I discovered the animal in the photo wasn't a shield bug, but rather an insect of the Order Hemiptera.

The Order Hemiptera is called the "true" insects. This group of insects is very large, with around 75,000 species worldwide. Around 1,700 of them can be found in the British Isles. Many of them are very different from each other, but all have piercing-like mouthparts that they use to suck fluids from plants or animals—usually plants. Their mouthparts are contained within a beak (or rostrum), which is usually tucked under the body when not in use.

Historically, the Order Hemiptera was divided into two suborders: Heteroptera (from the Greek, meaning 'different wings') and Homoptera ('uniform wings'). This distinction is based primarily on wing structure.

Heteroptera insects have distinct forewings divided into two parts: a hard, leathery basal area with a membranous tip, and membranous hindwings; these wings are folded flat over the back when not needed for flight. Homoptera insects have either hard or membranous forewings (but not both), and these wings are spread tent-like over the body when the insect is at rest.

Recently, however, genetic analysis has shown that the groups within Homoptera are not as closely related as previously thought—despite their shared ancestor. This has led to the suborder Homoptera being discontinued, and the insects previously included in this suborder being separated into three new suborders.

As a result, the order Hemiptera is now divided into four suborders:

Auchenorrhyncha Coleorrhyncha Heteroptera Sternorrhyncha

The term 'Homoptera' is now used only as a catch-all term for plant-feeding Hemiptera (e.g., aphids, leafhoppers, whiteflies, etc.) and should not be used to refer to the suborders.

Source: https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/orders/hemiptera.html

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