Tropical-insects
Guides
Blaberidae
Giant Cockroaches, Blaberids
Blaberidae is the second-largest family of cockroaches with over 1,260 species in 170 genera and 14 subfamilies. Members are distinguished as the only ovoviviparous cockroach family, where females retract the ootheca into the body and give birth to live nymphs. The family exhibits exceptional diversity in form and behavior, including burrowing species, conglobulating (ball-rolling) pill roaches, and hissing cockroaches. Many species are kept as pets or feeder insects.
Centrodontini
Centrodontini is a tribe of treehoppers within the subfamily Centrotinae, family Membracidae, established by Deitz in 1975. Members of this tribe are characterized by distinctive pronotal morphology and are part of the diverse membracid fauna. The tribe contains multiple genera distributed primarily in the Old World tropics. Treehoppers in this group are associated with woody host plants and exhibit the enlarged pronotum typical of the family.
Cymoninus
Cymoninus is a genus of true bugs in the family Ninidae, established by Breddin in 1907. The genus comprises at least four described species distributed across tropical and subtropical regions. Members of this genus are small, seed-feeding heteropterans within the superfamily Lygaeoidea. The family Ninidae is relatively poorly studied compared to other lygaeoid families.
Embiidina
webspinners, footspinners
Embiidina is a small order of cryptic, soft-bodied insects known as webspinners or footspinners, characterized by their unique ability to produce silk from specialized glands located in their swollen foretarsi. They construct extensive silk galleries or tunnels under bark, in leaf litter, or within soil crevices, which serve as protective shelters and foraging sites. The order exhibits pronounced sexual dimorphism: females are wingless and neotenic, remaining in galleries throughout their lives, while males of most species develop wings and disperse to locate mates. Webspinners are primarily tropical in distribution and display facultatively communal behavior with maternal care of eggs and young.
Euphalerus
Euphalerus is a genus of jumping plant lice (psyllids) in the family Psyllidae, first described by Schwarz in 1904. Members of this genus are small sap-feeding insects that inhabit the New World tropics and subtropics. The genus is distinguished by specific wing venation patterns and genitalic structures characteristic of the Psyllidae family. Euphalerus species are associated with various host plants, though specific associations remain incompletely documented.
Madura
Madura is a genus of leaf-footed bugs (Coreidae) described by Stål in 1860. These true bugs belong to the subfamily Hydarinae and are found in the New World tropics and subtropics, with records from Mexico, the Caribbean, Panama, and Texas. The genus comprises multiple species of medium to large-sized heteropterans characterized by their expanded hind tibiae and leaf-like expansions on the hind legs typical of the family Coreidae.
Myopsocus
Myopsocus is a genus of barklice in the family Myopsocidae, established by Hagen in 1866. Members of this genus are small, soft-bodied insects that inhabit tropical and subtropical regions. The genus is distinguished by specific wing venation patterns and genitalic structures. Myopsocus species are found in the Americas and Pacific islands, with records from the United States to Fiji.
Peritroctes
Peritroctes is a genus of small, wingless insects in the family Pachytroctidae, order Psocodea. Members of this genus are classified within the barklice and booklice group, though specific ecological details remain poorly documented. The genus was established by Ribaga in 1911 and is currently recognized as valid. Distribution records indicate presence in Mexico.
Sikaiana
Sikaiana is a genus of planthoppers in the family Derbidae, subfamily Otiocerinae, and tribe Sikaianini. The genus was established by Distant in 1907. Members of this genus are true bugs (Hemiptera) in the infraorder Auchenorrhyncha, a group characterized by piercing-sucking mouthparts and often elaborate wing structures. The genus is part of a diverse family of planthoppers distributed primarily in tropical regions.
Siphantini
Siphantini is a tribe of planthoppers within the family Flatidae, subfamily Flatinae. Members are classified in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, an ancient lineage of Hemiptera characterized by their distinctive head morphology. The tribe was established by Melichar in 1923 and contains multiple genera distributed across tropical and subtropical regions. Siphantini planthoppers are recognized for their flattened, often leaf-like body form that provides camouflage among foliage.
Synapiina
Synapiina is a subtribe of weevils within the family Brentidae, characterized by elongated, slender bodies and antennae that are straight or only weakly elbowed. Members of this subtribe are distinguished from other brentid groups by specific genitalic and rostral features. The subtribe includes multiple genera and is primarily distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. These weevils are associated with woody plants, though specific host relationships remain poorly documented for many species.
Systelloderes
gnat bugs
Systelloderes is a genus of gnat bugs (family Enicocephalidae) containing approximately 12 described species. The genus exhibits a nearly cosmopolitan distribution with highest diversity in humid tropical and subtropical forests. Species occur across multiple continents including Africa, Madagascar, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and the Americas from North America through Central and South America. The genus was established by Blanchard in 1852 and belongs to the tribe Systelloderini within the subfamily Enicocephalinae.
Tropiduchinae
Tropiduchinae is a subfamily of planthoppers within the family Tropiduchidae, established by Stål in 1866. The subfamily encompasses numerous tribes and genera distributed globally, with particularly diverse representation in tropical and subtropical regions. Members share the general body plan characteristic of tropiduchid planthoppers, though specific diagnostic features distinguishing the subfamily from other tropiduchid subfamilies require specialist examination. The group includes both extant and extinct lineages, with the fossil tribe †Emilianini documented from Eocene deposits.
Zoraptera
angel insects, ground lice
Zoraptera is a small insect order containing approximately 30–51 extant species across two families (Zorotypidae and Spiralizoridae). These tiny insects exhibit remarkable wing dimorphism: most individuals are wingless, pale, and eyeless, while a minority develop as dark, winged alates with compound eyes and ocelli that can shed their wings at a basal fracture line. They inhabit tropical and subtropical forests worldwide, living cryptically under bark, in rotting wood, or in leaf litter. Their phylogenetic position remains debated, with morphological evidence linking them to Embioptera and molecular data suggesting affinity with Dictyoptera or Dermaptera.
Zorotypus
angel insects
Zorotypus is the sole extant genus of the order Zoraptera, commonly called angel insects. The genus contains approximately 39 extant species distributed primarily in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, with four species occurring north of the Tropic of Cancer. Species exhibit two distinct morphs: winged individuals with compound eyes, ocelli, and dark pigmentation that can shed their wings; and wingless, pale individuals lacking eyes and ocelli. The genus has an extensive fossil record, with numerous species described from Cretaceous and Miocene amber deposits.