University of Kentucky Entomology/Kentucky Critter Files/Kentucky Insects/True Bugs
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TRUE BUGS OF KENTUCKY
Critter Files/Insects/True Bugs

 
 
WHAT IS A TRUE BUG?

Although many insects are referred to as "bugs," only the insects in the order Hemiptera are "True Bugs."  True bugs, often called "hemipterans," are distinguished from other insects by a combination of unique features.

Hemipterans have piercing-and-sucking mouthparts, which work like a straw.  Plant-feeding true bugs use their mouthparts to suck plant sap, and carnivorous bugs use their mouthparts to suck body fluids from insects and other small animals.  A few parasitic bugs use their mouthparts to suck blood from mammals.

   
"Beak" of a true bug
"Beak" of a true bug (B. Newton, 2003)
Left: Close-up of an insect in the order Hemiptera.  Note the piercing and sucking beak.  Most insects in the order Hemiptera are able to fold their beaks under their bodies when not feeding, as this plant bug is doing.
 

True bugs also have "hemielytra."  Hemielytra are similar to the hard wings (called "elytra") found on beetles, but on hemielytra only half of the wing (the half closest to the body) is hardened, while the other half is clear and membranous.  All true bugs go through a simple metamorphosis, with egg, nymph, and adult stages.  Nymphs resemble small adults, except without wings.

The true bugs are a diverse group.  Stink bugs, assassin bugs, giant water bugs, bed bugs, and many other unusual insects belong to this order.  Click on the pictures above to learn more about different kinds of true bugs.


Original document: 25 May 2004
Last updated: 26 April 2005

Photos courtesy R. Bessin and B. Newton, University of Kentucky
The Kentucky Critter Files are maintained by Blake Newton, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky.
Contact: blaken@uky.edu

   
University of Kentucky Entomology/Kentucky Critter Files/Kentucky Insects/True Bugs