Caelifera

Definition

A suborder of the order Orthoptera comprising the short-horned grasshoppers and their allies, distinguished from the long-horned grasshoppers and crickets (suborder Ensifera) by relatively short antennae, a pronotum that does not extend backward over the abdomen, and sound production by stridulation of the hind femora against the forewings. The suborder includes the superfamilies Acridoidea (typical grasshoppers), Tetrigoidea (ground-hoppers or pygmy grasshoppers), and Tridactyloidea (pygmy mole crickets).

Etymology

From Latin caelifer, "heaven-bearing" or "sky-supporting," alluding to the powerful jumping ability that propels these insects upward.

Example

Field entomologists distinguish Caelifera from Ensifera in the hand by antenna length: Caelifera such as the migratory locust Locusta migratoria have antennae with fewer than 30 segments and typically shorter than the head and pronotum combined, whereas katydids and crickets (Ensifera) bear long, filamentous antennae often exceeding body length.

Related Terms

• Ensifera
• Orthoptera
• Acrididae
• Tetrigidae
• Tridactylidae
• pronotum
• stridulation
• tegmen

Usage Notes

The name is treated as a plural noun in formal taxonomic usage ("the Caelifera are..."), reflecting its Latin origin. Caelifera is sometimes informally equated with "grasshoppers," but this obscures the inclusion of the non-grasshopper groups Tetrigoidea and Tridactyloidea. The pygmy mole crickets (Tridactylidae) are not true mole crickets, which belong to Gryllotalpidae in Ensifera. Molecular phylogenetics has largely confirmed the traditional split between Caelifera and Ensifera, though relationships among the caeliferan superfamilies remain under study.