Acrididae

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | 700+ words | Copyright

Acrididae (short-horned grasshoppers, locusts; order Orthoptera, suborder Caelifera) Cosmopolitan family of small to large, short-horned grasshoppers among which stridulation is common, the males and some females rubbing a row of pegs on the hind femora against a toughened vein of the forewing (tegmen). They have three-segmented tarsi and antennae which are shorter than the fore femora, and hind legs modified for jumping (saltatorial). There are tympanal organs (ears) at the base of the abdomen. The female has a short ovipositor and lays eggs in the soil, or sometimes in decaying wood. All species are plant feeders and a number are important agricultural pests, most notably the locusts. Lubber, spurthroated, slant-faced, and band-winged grasshoppers are members of the family, which is the largest of the Caelifera and contains some 10 000 known species.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "Acrididae." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "Acrididae." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Acrididae.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "Acrididae." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-Acrididae.html

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