the-bug-bulletin

[the-bug-bulletin]

Bugs - What are they, exactly?

Arthropods! creepy-crawlies! The little guys who make up 80% of Planet Earth's extant lifeforms! Oftentimes, arthropods (as well as other little critters, including mollusks like snails) are referred to as "bugs." While the colloquial meaning encompasses a broad swathe of organisms, true bugs are insects in the order Hemiptera - which is Greek for "half wing". Though, this is somewhat contested, with some arguing that true bugs are contained within the suborder Heteroptera.

Today, we will be talking about Hemiptera. The order covers nearly 80,000 species of insects with piercing, sucking mouthparts - insects such as cicadas, assassin bugs, shield bugs, leafhoppers, aphids, planthoppers, and bed bugs. Bugs vary in size, ranging from 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) to nearly 15 centimeters (6 inches)

Many hemipterans feed on plant sap. Aphids are a well-known example of this diet. Some, like bed bugs, are hematophagous, or bloodsucking. Others still are predatory and feed on other invertebrates, such as assassin bugs. Whatever the case with diet, they have mandibles and maxillae specialized into a piercing beak called a stylet. Both herbivorous and carnivorous bugs use enzymes in their saliva to help break down their food before they ingest it.

Hemipterans interact with humankind in a variety of ways. They can be pests, like bed bugs (Cimex) and aphids (Aphidoidea), or utilized as pest control, like the spined soldier bug (Podisus Maculiventris). Sometimes hematophagous bugs can transmit bloodborne illnesses. Specifically, Chagas disease is transmitted by kissing bugs (Triatominae).

Hemipterans have been historically used for food, dyes like Carmine, wood finish, moisture-proof pill coating, a wax for citrus fruits to prolong their shelf life, and to mask the taste of bitter flavors.