Insects Taxonomic Diversity Insects Order Ephemeroptera Coleoptera Odonata

Insects Taxonomic Diversity

Insects Order . Ephemeroptera . Coleoptera . Odonata . Lepidoptera . Isoptera . Diptera . Blattaria . Siphonoptera . Dermaptera . Hymenoptera . Orthoptera . Mantodea . Phasmida . Plecoptera . Hemiptera

Ephemeroptera • Mayflies are small to medium sized insects with an average wingspan up to 15 millimetres. As their name suggests, mayflies have only a short adult life ranging from a few hours up to a day or two depending on the species. Mayflies can be recognised by the following characteristics 2 pair of membranous wings • Hind wings much smaller than the forewings • Short, fine antennae • Mandibulate mouthparts • Tip of abdomen usually with 3 very long

Odonata was until recently composed of three suborders: Anisoptera, commonly known as dragonflies; Zygoptera, commonly known as damselflies; and Anisozyoptera, as the name denotes, a morphological composite of the previous two suborders. However, the suborder Anisozygoptera has been abandoned, as current research shows that Anisozygoptera is not a natural group, and is paraphyletic (Rehn 2003, Lohman 1996). Thus, the group has been combined with the suborder Anisoptera, which does form a natural group in a new suborder called Epiprocta (Bechly 1996). To facilitate the discussion of North American odonates it is useful to use the names Zygoptera and Anisoptera when discussing differences between the damselflies and dragonflies, as there are no extant Anisozygoptera in North America.

Isoptera Termites are small to medium sized insects ranging form 3 -20 millimetres in body length. These insects are not often seen although evidence of their presence is observable in the large mounds they construct or the damage they do to wood products and structures. Termites can be distinguished by the following features:

Blattaria Cockroaches are cursorial insects with five-segmented tarsi and none of the legs modified for digging or grasping. They are very fast runners, as anyone who attempts to step on one soon discovers. • The body is oval and flattened. • The head is concealed from above by the pronotum. • Tympana and stridulating organs (usually) are absent. • Wings are generally present, though in some species they are much reduced. • The females of many species have shorter wings than the males. • The cerci are one- to many-segmented and usually fairly long. • The antennae are long and filiform.

Dermaptera Common and widely distributed throughout the world. Largest diversity is found in the tropics and subtropincomplete development (egg, nymph, adult)cs. closely related to Orthoptera and Phasmatodea. The Dermaptera contains three suborders. Most species belong to the Forficulina. The other two groups, Arixeniina and Hemimerina, live in close association with mammals. The former (five species) live on Asian bats and the latter (eleven species) live on African rodents. All of these insects are adapted for a parasitic or semi-parasitic lifestyle: they are secondarily wingless and the cerci are not well-developed into pincers. Members of the Arixeniina give birth to live nymphs (vivipary).

Orthoptera incomplete development (egg, nymph, adult) closely related to Blattodea and Dermaptera. Orthoptera is generally regarded as a dominant group in most terrestrial habitats. These insects feed on all types of plants and often cause serious economic damage. Swarms of grasshoppers (locusts) regularly appear in parts of Africa, Asia, and North America and destroy crops over wide land areas. Mole crickets are major pests in lawns and golf courses in the southern United States. Several species of field crickets are reared commercially as fish bait. Orthoptera probably arose during the middle of the Carboniferous period. Most living members of this order are terrestrial herbivores with modified hind legs that are adapted for jumping. Slender, thickened front wings fold back over the abdomen to protect membranous, fan-shaped hind wings. Many species have the ability to make and detect sounds. Orthoptera is one of the largest and most important groups of plant-feeding insects.

Phasmida The Phasmatodea are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects, walking sticks or stick-bugs, phasmids, ghost insects and leaf insects. Body and legs very long and slender; no wings in our spp. (one species in Florida has) very short wings, many exotic forms are fully winged

Hemiptera • 2 pairs of wings, although some species may be wingless and others have only forewings. Wings are generally membranous but in some species the forewings may be hardened at the base • Piercing or sucking mouthparts appearing as a sharply pointed tube known as a proboscis or rostrum, which extends from the underside of the head • Compound eyes of various forms • Up to 3 ocelli present • Antennae vary and may be either short, or long and conspicuous The young of hemipterans look like small adults. Some bugs may be mistaken for beetles but can be distinguished by their mouthparts as beetles have mandibulate mouthparts while bugs have sucking/piercing mouthparts. This order is divided into 3 suborders; true bugs (Heteroptera); hoppers (Auchenorrhyncha) and; aphids, scale insects, lerps and mealy bugs (Sternorrhyncha).

Coleoptera The Coleoptera order of insects is commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek κολεός, koleos, meaning "sheath"; and πτερόν, pteron, meaning "wing", thus "sheathed wing", because most beetles have two pairs of wings.

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies. It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three. . .

Diptera • The order Diptera includes all true flies. These insects are distinctive because their hind wings are reduced to small, club-shaped structures called halteres - only the membranous front wings serve as aerodynamic surfaces. The halteres vibrate during flight and work much like a gyroscope to help the insect maintain balance. • All Dipteran larvae are legless. They live in aquatic (fresh water), semi-aquatic, or moist terrestrial environments. They are commonly found in the soil, in plant or animal tissues, and in carrion or dung -- almost always where there is little danger of desiccation. Some species are herbivores, but most feed on dead organic matter or parasitize other animals, especially vertebrates, molluscs, and other arthropods. In the more primitive families (suborder Nematocera), fly larvae have well-developed head capsules with mandibulate mouthparts. These structures are reduced or absent in the more advanced suborders (Brachycera and Cyclorrhapha) where the larvae, known as maggots, have worm-like bodies and only a pair of mouth hooks for feeding.

Siphonoptera The name Siphonaptera is derived from the Greek words "siphon" meaning a tube or pipe and "aptera" meaning wingless. This is an appropriate appellation for these secondarily wingless insects whose mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood.

Hymenoptera The name Hymenoptera is derived from the Greek words "hymen" meaning membrane and "ptera" meaning wings. It is also a reference to Hymeno, the Greek god of marriage. The name is appropriate not only for the membranous nature of the wings, but also for the manner in which they are "joined together as one" by the hamuli.

Mantodea Mantids have elongate bodies that are specialized for a predatory lifestyle: long front legs with spines for catching and holding prey, a head that can turn from side to side, and cryptic coloration for hiding in foliage or flowers. Mantids are most abundant and most diverse in the tropics; there are only 5 species commonly collected in the United States and 3 of these have been imported from abroad.

Plecoptera The Plecoptera are an order of insects, commonly known as stoneflies. Some 3, 500 species are described worldwide, with new species still being discovered. Stoneflies are found worldwide, except Antarctica

The End