Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
unique-headed bug
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Quizzes
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
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)
Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz
vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.
Animal Factoids
wasp. Vespid Wasp (Vespidaea) with antennas and compound eyes drink nectar from a cherry. Hornets largest eusocial wasps, stinging insect in the order Hymenoptera, related to bees. Pollination
Know Your Bugs Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Wasp and bee, insect
What’s the Difference Between a Bee and a Wasp?
Japanese spider crab
10 Animals With Evolutionary Traits Plucked Straight Out of a Nightmare
Malayan Leaf Frog - Megophrys nasuta
9 Animals That Look Like Leaves
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) standing on rock, side view, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
The Fastest Animals on Earth
Big beaver gnawing on limb at river's edge
6 Animal Species that Mate for Life
Discover
Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics
10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time
John F. Kennedy as a boy with his family
What Did We Call America’s Elite Before the “1 Percent”?
New York NY/ USA- November 23, 2018 Hordes of shoppers throng the Macy's Herald Square flagship store in New York looking for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday.
Why Is It Called Black Friday?
Santa Claus flying in his sleigh, christmas, reindeer
Was Santa Claus a Real Person?
Thanksgiving Turkey with all the sides
Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?
Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.
Why Is Ireland Two Countries?
Super Typhoon Noru over the western tropical Pacific Ocean as observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA Aqua satellite July 31 2017
What Is the Difference Between a Typhoon and a Super Typhoon?

unique-headed bug

insect
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/animal/unique-headed-bug
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Also known as: Enicocephalidae, gnat bug
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
Also called:
gnat bug
See all related content

unique-headed bug, (family Enicocephalidae), any of about 130 species of bugs (order Heteroptera) that have an unusual elongated head that is constricted behind the eyes and also at the base. The unique-headed bug is found throughout the world and is about 4 mm (0.2 inch) long. These bugs are also unique in that their forewings are entirely membranous, as opposed to having a thickened basal portion as in all other true bugs. Both the beak and the antennae have four joints, and the front pair of legs is adapted for grasping prey. Though some species are found in all zoogeographic regions, little is known of their habits. Two North American species are Enicocephalus formicina and Systelloderus biceps (Henicocephalus culicis).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.