A familiar order that perhaps is best recognized by knowing the associated insect groups-grasshoppers, crickets, etc. The most familiar members of this order are the grasshoppers, some of which can be serious pests of agricultural plants during outbreaks. Their unusual stick-like form provides them with great camouflage.
Winter is spent in the egg stage within a mass covered with a tough styrofoam-like covering.
Only a few wood roaches, found feeding on decaying bark and other debris, are native to the region. However, a few kinds of roaches are well-adapted to indoor life and have been widely spread by humans, such as the German cockroach, Oriental cockroach and American cockroach. Essentially, all regional species have colonies below ground. Only the winged reproductive stages leave the colony. Termites are capable of digesting cellulose, often through the aid of protozoa in their digestive system.