Overview
Taxonomy
The Superorder Panorpida is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Order (7): Ascaridida · Diptera · Lepidoptera · Mecoptera · Siphonaptera · Strepsiptera · Trichoptera
Orders
Ascaridida
The order Ascaridida includes several families of parasitic roundworms with three "lips" on the anterior end. They were formerly placed in the subclass Rhabditia by some, but morphological and DNA sequence data rather unequivocally assigns them to the Spiruria. The Oxyurida and are occasionally placed in the Ascaridida as superfamily Oxyuroidea, but while they seem indeed to be Spiruria, they are not as close to Ascaris as such a treatment would place them. [more]
Diptera
True flies are insects of the order Diptera (from the Greek di = two, and ptera = wings). They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax. Apart from secondarily flightless insects (including some flies), the only other order of insects with any form of halteres are the Strepsiptera, and theirs are on the mesothorax, with the flight wings on the metathorax. [more]
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( le-pi-dop-t?-r?) is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies (called lepidopterans). It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies. The term was coined by Linnaeus in 1735 and is derived from Ancient Greek ?ep?d?? (scale) and pte??? (wing). Comprising an estimated 174,250 species, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, the Lepidoptera show many variations of the basic body structure that have evolved to gain advantages in lifestyle and distribution. Recent estimates suggest that the order may have more species than earlier thought, and is among the four most speciose orders, along with the Hymenoptera, Diptera, and the Coleoptera. [more]
Mecoptera
Mecoptera (from the Greek: 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
Fleas are the insects forming the order Siphonaptera. They are wingless, with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. Fleas are external parasites, living by hematophagy off the blood of mammals (including bats and humans) and birds. [more]
Strepsiptera
The Strepsiptera (known in older literature as twisted-winged parasites) are an endopterygote order of insects with ten families making up about 600 species. The early stage larvae and the short-lived adult males are free-living, but most of their lives are spent as endoparasites in other insects such as bees, wasps, leafhoppers, silverfish, and cockroaches. [more]
Trichoptera
The caddisflies are an order, Trichoptera, of insects with approximately 12,000 described species. Also called sedge-flies or rail-flies, they 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. The name "Trichoptera" comes from Greek: (thrix, "hair") + pte??? (pteron, "wing"). [more]
At least 12,431 species and subspecies belong to the Order Trichoptera.
More info about the Order Trichoptera may be found here.
Sources
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