Overview
Taxonomy
The Superorder Panorpida is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Order (6): Diptera · Lepidoptera · Mecoptera · Siphonaptera · Strepsiptera · Trichoptera
Orders
Diptera
True flies are of the order Diptera (Greek: = two, and pteron = wing), possessing a single pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax. [more]
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is an of insects that includes moths and butterflies. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies. Members of the order are referred to as lepidopterans. A person who collects or studies this order is referred to as a lepidopterist. This order has more than 180,000 species in 128 families and 47 superfamilies. The name is derived from Ancient Greek ?ep?d?? (scale) and pte??? (wing). Estimates of species suggest that the order may have more species and is among the four largest, successful orders, along with the Hymenoptera, Diptera, and the Coleoptera. [more]
Mecoptera
Mecoptera (from the : meco- = "long", -ptera = "wings") are an order of insects with about 550 species in nine families worldwide. Mecoptera are sometimes called scorpionflies after their largest family, Panorpidae, in which the males have enlarged genitals that look similar to the stinger of a scorpion. The Bittacidae, or hangingflies, are a prominent family of elongate insects known for their elaborate mating rituals, in which females choose mates based on the quality of gift prey offered by various males. [more]
Siphonaptera
Flea is the for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects whose mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. (Some authorities use the name Aphaniptera because it is older, but names above family rank need not follow the ICZN rules of priority, so most taxonomists use the more familiar name). Fleas are external parasites, living by hematophagy off the blood of mammals and birds. Genetic and morphological evidence indicates that they are descendants of the Scorpionfly family Boreidae, which are also flightless; accordingly it is possible that they will eventually be reclassified as a suborder within the Mecoptera. In the past, however, it was most commonly supposed that fleas had evolved from the flies (Diptera), based on similarities of the larvae. In any case, all these groups seem to represent a clade of closely related insect lineages, for which the names Mecopteroidea and Antliophora have been proposed. [more]
Strepsiptera
The Strepsiptera (known in older literature as twisted-winged parasites) are an order of with nine families making up about 600 species. The early stage larvae and the short-lived adult males are free-living but most of their life is spent as endoparasites in other insects such as bees, wasps, leafhoppers, silverfish, and cockroaches. [more]
Trichoptera
Trichoptera (: trich, "hair" + ptera, "wings") is an order of insects. Member species, known as caddisflies, sedge-flies or rail flies, are small moth-like insects having two pairs of hairy membranous wings. They are closely related to Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) which have scales on their wings, and the two orders together form the superorder Amphiesmenoptera. Caddisflies have aquatic larvae and are found in a wide variety of habitats such as streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, spring seeps, and temporary waters (vernal pools). The larvae of many species make protective cases of silk decorated with gravel, sand, twigs or other debris. [more]
At least 12,162 species and subspecies belong to the Order Trichoptera.
More info about the Order Trichoptera may be found here.
Sources
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