homopteran: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Homoptera

Photos and Videos

thorn treehopper

Illustrations of various homopteran insects are shown, including a colorful leafhopper, green plant hopper, whitefly, spiny mealybug, horned treehopper, winged and wingless aphids, brown spittlebug, large cicada, and male and female scale insects with the female covered by a round shell. Each insect is labeled with its common and scientific family name.

Illustration of a cicada (Magicicada) showing its brown body, large orange eyes, and transparent, veined wings extending past its abdomen.

Illustration of a meadow spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius), showing a brown, oval-shaped insect with six legs and short antennae, viewed from above.

A 17-year periodical cicada (Magicicada) with transparent wings and orange legs clings to a blade of grass, photographed in North Carolina.

teneral cicada in final molting stage

Magicicada; teneral cicada

Map of the eastern United States displaying color-coded regions that indicate the next scheduled emergence years for various cicada broods. Each color represents a specific brood and year, with a legend on the right listing both 17-year and 13-year cicada broods and their upcoming emergence dates. The regions are scattered across states from the Midwest to the East Coast and South.

Why do some cicadas appear every 17 years?

How do cicadas inspire new forms of music?

Close-up of two 17-year cicadas with black bodies and orange eyes, perched on a branch, with a blurred green and brown background.

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

Coleorrhyncha Auchenorrhyncha Sternorrhyncha cicada plant hopper phylloxeran coccid aphid leafhopper Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?heteropteran termite Odonata louse thrips mayfly gladiator bug sucking louse ice bug earwig

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

Animal Factoids

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz