Jumping ground bugs | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hemiptera |
Suborder: | Heteroptera |
Infraorder: | Dipsocoromorpha |
Families | |
Ceratocombidae |
Ceratocombidae
Dipsocoridae
Hypsipterygidae
Schizopteridae
Stemmocryptidae
Dipsocoromorpha is an infraorder of insects in the order of Hemiptera (true bugs). The infraorder Dipsocoromporpha contains only 200 species of Heteroptera. The insects of this order live on the ground and in the leaf litter, though they can also be found in mangroves, low vegetation areas, and interstitial areas of streams.
Dipsocoromorpha are some of the smallest adult bugs, usually between 0.5 and 4.0 mm long. They are often characterized by having a long, whip like antennae, with a flattened and broad body. Many of these insects have long hairs on their antennae, as well. Dipsocoromorpha tend to be more abundant in the tropics, and show an amazing amount of diversity for an organism so small.
Fossil records of Dipsocoromorpha date back to the Early Cretaceous period, but relatively few fossils have been well preserved, making it difficult to assess the Dipsocoromorpha’s place on the phylogenetic tree. Two particularly well-preserved specimens were found in amber in both Lebanon and Myanmar.