Hopper Anatomy

Throughout this website there will a variety of terms used to describe a species that refer to the anatomy of a hopper. While much of the website has been written in a way to be easily understood, in some cases anatomical terms have been used that are necessary in describing a species. In case any of these terms are unfamiliar to you, below are a list of frequently used terms and some external links that may be useful.

Frons - upper part of the face

Clypeus - lower part of the face

Vertex - the top of the head

Scutellum - a triangular-shaped, shield like portion of the thorax that is visible above the base of the wings and below the pronotum.

Pronotum - a plate-like structure on the thorax, visible between the scutellum and vertex/head.

Thorax - the middle region of the body, between the head and abdomen. The legs and wings are attached to the thorax.

Abdomen - the third or final region of the body, after the thorax. The abdomen contains the reproductive parts.

Dorsal - upper surface

Ventral - lower surface

Pygofer - the last segment of the abdomen in males and females- the genital segment.

Pregenital sternite - sternite number 7: the last sternite of the abdomen before the pygofer in females

Subgenital plates - plate-like structures above the genital structures in the male

For more information, see:

http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/bug_bits.html

Leg Anatomy: http://bugguide.net/node/view/110086

Anatomical terms: http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/learning/resources/Entomology/glossary.html, https://askabiologist.asu.edu/anatomy-glossary

Please see the Hopper Genitalia page to see how to sex various hoppers.