Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Insecta \In*sec"ta\, n. pl. [NL. See {Insect}.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) One of the classes of Arthropoda, including
those that have one pair of antenn[ae], three pairs of
mouth organs, and breathe air by means of trache[ae],
opening by spiracles along the sides of the body. In this
sense it includes the Hexapoda, or six-legged insects and
the Myriapoda, with numerous legs. See {Insect}, n.
2. (Zo["o]l.) In a more restricted sense, the Hexapoda alone.
See {Hexapoda}.
3. (Zo["o]l.) In the most general sense, the Hexapoda,
Myriapoda, and Arachnoidea, combined.
Note: The typical Insecta, or hexapod insects, are divided
into several orders, viz.: {Hymenoptera}, as the bees
and ants; {Diptera}, as the common flies and gnats;
{Aphaniptera}, or fleas; {Lepidoptera}, or moths and
butterflies; {Neuroptera}, as the ant-lions and
hellgamite; {Coleoptera}, or beetles; {Hemiptera}, as
bugs, lice, aphids; {Orthoptera}, as grasshoppers and
cockroaches; {Pseudoneuroptera}, as the dragon flies
and termites; {Euplexoptera}, or earwings; {Thysanura},
as the springtails, podura, and lepisma. See these
words in the Vocabulary.
Hemiptera \He*mip"te*ra\, n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. ? half + ? wing,
fr. ? to fly.] (Zo["o]l.)
An order of hexapod insects having a jointed proboscis,
including four sharp stylets (mandibles and maxill[ae]), for
piercing. In many of the species (Heteroptera) the front
wings are partially coriaceous, and different from the
others.
Note: They are divided into the Heteroptera, including the
squash bug, soldier bug, bedbug, etc.; the Homoptera,
including the cicadas, cuckoo spits, plant lice, scale
insects, etc.; the Thysanoptera, including the thrips,
and, according to most recent writers, the Pediculina
or true lice.
Source : WordNet®
Hemiptera
n : plant bugs; bedbugs; some true bugs; also includes suborders
Heteroptera (true bugs) and Homoptera (e.g., aphids,
plant lice and cicadas) [syn: {order Hemiptera}]