Classification of insects

taxonamy classification of insects into orders with features of each order and a few examples

1. CLASSIFICATION OF INSECTS ORDERS: 1) Coleoptera Strepsiptera Mecoptera Diptera Hymenoptera Siphonaptera Lepidoptera Trichoptera BY: ANUSHA BAS051502

2. COLEOPTERA (Greek coleos = sheath , pteron = wing ) (English Common Name : Beetles)

3. Largest order among insects. Approximately 3,55,000 described species. Found throughout the world (except Antarctica), but are most speciose in the tropics. Oldest beetle fossils are about 265 million years old. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION ANTIQUITY

4. Range in size from minute featherwing beetles (adults: 0.3 mm) to the giant Goliath and Hercules beetles(over 15 cm). Ptenidium terminale Titanus Giganteus SIZE

5. MAJOR FEATURES Head - prognathous and wedge shaped. Rigidly sclerotized fore wings called Elytra and beneath it the hind wings are folded. Elytra locking mechanisms – scutellar shield and alacristae . Mesothorax shortened forming compact unit with metathorax .

6. Pronotum is shield –like . Antennae usually has less than 11 segments. Longitudinal and transverse hindwing folding Tegminal segments invanginated .

7. SUBORDERS Archostemata Adephaga Myxophaga Polyphaga TAXONOMY

8. ARCHOSTEMATA Smallest suborder that has five extant families :   Crowsoniellidae Cupedidae : Reticulated beetles Jurodidae                                       Micromalthidae : Micromalthid beetles   Ommatidae Priacma serrata ( reticulated beetle ) Micromalthus debilis

9. ADEPHAGA Includes the following families: Amphizoidae   Aspidytidae Carabidae :  Ground beetles   Dytiscidae   Gyrinidae : Whirligig beetles Haliplidae : Crawling water beetles Hygrobiidae Noteridae : Burrowing water beetle Rhysodidae Trachypachidae Colpius inflatus (burrowing water beetle)

10. Brychius elevatus Calosoma sycophanta  Ground beetle Crawling water beetles

11. MYXOPHAGA Includes 4 families: Hydroscaphidae  :  Skiff beetles, Water scavenger beetles       Lepiceridae Sphaeriusidae : Minute Bog Beetles                       Torridincolidae   Minute Bog Beetle

12. POLYPHAGA It is divided into 5 Infraorders . Includes 16 Superfamilies and 144 Families. Includes bioluminescent beetles such as Pyrophorini , Balgus . Pyrophorus noctilucus

13. STREPSIPTERA (Greek strephein = to twist, pteron = wing) (English common name: twisted wing parasites)

14. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION Approximately 600 species are described. Occur on all continents except for Antarctica. Diversity increases towards the tropical region and is likely highest in Africa. ANTIQUITY Well preserved adult male has been described from 100- million-year old Cretaceous ( 145.5 and  65.5 million years   ago) amber .

15. MAJOR FEATURES Called ‘ Twisted Wing Parasites ’ due to the unusual twist of the hind wing of the flying adult male. Highly specialised endoparasites . Endoparasites of insects belonging to the Orders Thysanura , Blattodea , Mantodea , Orthoptera , Hemiptera , Diptera and Hymenoptera. Show extreme sexual dimorphism .

16. SEXUAL DIMORPHISM Adult females E ndoparasites L ack eyes, antennae, legs, mouthparts and wings. Ovaries are reduced. O ocytes floating in haemolymph . Adult males Free-living With raspberry-like eyes Branched antennae Forewings -modified as halteres . Hindwings -fan-shaped. Cuticle - densely covered with microtrichia . Simple blade-like or hook-shaped penis

17. TAXONOMY The order is divided into two suborders Mengenillidia : includes only a single family ( Mengenillidae ) Stylopidia : includes seven families Female lateral view , length: 7.2 mm Male lateral view, length: 3.9 mm Male and female of Stylopidia ( Xenos vesparum )

18. Mengenillidae Fully- grown male and female larvae leave the hosts(species of silverfish) and pupation takes outside. Both male and female are free-living. Female are not grub-like and have features of adult insect such as legs and antennae. Female of E. laboulbenei Male of M. moldrzyki

19. DIPTERA (Greek di = two, pteron = wing) (English common name: true flies)

20. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION Megadiverse orders with presently ca. 154,000 described species. Occur on all continents including coastal regions of Antarctica. ANTIQUITY The oldest fossil of Dipteran flies are known from Early Triassic (251mya)

21. MAJOR FEATURES Haustellum (proboscis) formed by the prementum Mouthparts vary according to diet, are adapted for lapping and sponging liquids or piercing and sucking. Large mesothorax . Metathorax and prothorax reduced in size. Single pair of membranous fore wings (some ectoparasitic species are wingless). Hind wings in all species are reduced to form halteres (balancing organs).

22. Diptera, adult heads, lateral view, SEM micrographs. A, Aedes punctor, female, B, distal part of stinging apparatus (magnified from A), C, Drosophila melanogaster Haltere

23. TAXONOMY The group is subdivided into the two suborders : Nematocera ( Nema - thread, Cera - Horned one) Brachycera ( Brachy - short, Cera - Horned one)

24. Nematocera More primitive suborder Delicate thread-like antennae Includes crane flies, mosquitoes, black flies, midges. Aedes albopictus Chaoborus sp. ( phantom midges)

25. Brachycera Are more robust, with short, stout antennae of less than six segments. Comprises of : Orthorrhaphan groups : includes horse flies and robber flies. Cyclorrhaphan groups : includes fruit flies, hover flies, blowflies and flesh flies. Sarcophaga carnaria  (common flesh fly) Cheilosia (hoverfly)

26. MAJOR FAMILIES BITING FLIES Cucilidae : mosquitoes Tabanidae : horse flies Psychodidae  : moth flies Muscidae  : House flies Goniops hippoboscoides ( horse fly) Clogmia albipunctata (moth fly)

27. HERBIVORES Tephritidae  :fruit flies Agromyzidae : larvae are leaf miners, stem and root borers. Bactrocera dorsalis

28. SCAVENGERS Drosophilidae   : pomace flies Calliphoridae : blow flies Chironomidae : midges Sarcophagidae  : flesh flies Lucilia caesar (blow fly)

29. PREDATORS Asilidae  : robber flies Bombyliidae  : bee flies Empididae  : dance flies Syrphidae : flower flies Tiger Bee Fly - Xenox tigrinus .

30. Sciomyzidae  : marsh flies Oestridae  : bot flies/warble flies Hippoboscidae  : louse flies Tachinidae - parasitoids ( biocontrol agents) Cephenemyia stimulator ( bot fly) PARASITES

31. MECOPTERA (Greek meco = long, pteron = wing) English common names : Scorpion flies, Hanging flies etc Panorpa communis (scorpion fly)

32. DIVERSITY Mecoptera are one of the small groups of Holometabola . Approximately 550 species are described. ANTIQUITY The oldest mecopteran fossils are known from the Upper Permian(299 mya ).

33. MAJOR FEATURES Head- hypognathous. Presence of a ventrally projecting rostrum . Rostrum has slender mandible and maxillae and an elongate labium. Compound eyes - large and separated.

34. Slender and thread-like antennae. Fore and hind wings are similar in size, shape and venation. Presence of a genital capsule in males

35. TAXONOMY The order is presently subdivided into the nine extant families Nannochoristidae : restricted to the Southern Hemisphere Boreidae : flightless Mecopterans that occur only on the Northern Hemisphere. Meropeidae Bittacidae Eomeropidae Choristidae : endemic in Australia Apteropanorpidae : restricted to Tasmania and Southern Australia. Panorpidae Panorpodidae

36. SIPHONAPTERA (Greek siphon = tube, aptera = without wings) English common name: fleas Xenopsylla cheopis

37. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION Approximately 2500 species of Siphonapterans are described. Occur on all continents including Antarctica. High diversity in mountainous areas of the moderate subtropical regions Most species are described from Eurasia. ANTIQUITY Tarwinia australis from the Lower Cretaceous(65.5 mya ) sediments of Australia was disputed but probably belongs to the ancestral group of Siphonaptera

38. Tarwinia australis

39. MAJOR FEATURES More than 90% of the species feed on blood of land mammals, the remaining are ectoparasites of birds. Small, wingless and laterally flattened. Short head that bears a three- segmented antennae, sucking and piercing mouthparts. Hindlegs are modified as jumping legs. Some species have rows of posteriorly directed setae. Have large male copulatory organ functioning as clasping apparatus.

40. The order is presently divided into seven families:   Ceratopsyllidae – rodent fleas                                    Hystrichopsyllidae  - insectivore fleas                                     Ischnopsyllidae   – bat fleas                                    Leptopsyllidae   – bird fleas Pulicidae – common fleas                                    Rhopalopsyllidae   – marsupial fleas Vermipsyllidae   – carnivore fleas Ctenophthalmus nobilis (rodent flea) TAXONOMY

41. TRICHOPTERA   ( Greek trichos = hair, pteron = wing) (English common name: caddisflies ) Halesus radiatus

42. Comprises of approximately 11,000 described species. Has a worldwide distribution. Reach their highest diversity in Southeast Asia and South America . Endemic families occur on all continents except for Europe. ANTIQUITY Oldest definite Trichopteran fossil - from the Early Jurassic (176 mya ). DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION

43. MAJOR FEATURES Mostly nocturnal and found almost everywhere there is fresh water. Body and wings, mostly fore wings are covered with hairs . Head has a pair of large compound eyes, long antennae. Mouthparts : poorly developed and aid in licking up water & nectar. Fore wings and hind wings are held over the body in a tent like manner. Larva forms protective “cases” built either from their own silk or from stone, twigs or leaf fragments. Each family has its own design of such “cases”.

44. TAXONOMY Comprises of 10 Superfamilies and a total of 49 families. MAJOR FAMILIES Hydropsychidae : Most larvae are filter feeders.  They build silk nets in swift water to snare food particles. A few species are predatory. 2. Hydroptilidae  :  Larvae make purse-like cases of silk, often with small stones attached.

45. 3. Limnephilidae  :  Larvae build tubular cases from a variety of natural materials. 4. Phryganeidae :  Larvae construct tubular cases with plant fragments arranged in a spiral orientation.

46. LEPIDOPTERA (Greek lepis = scale, pteron = wing) English common names: moths and butterflies)

47. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION Comprises of approximately 2,00,000 species. Occur on all continents except Antarctica. Diversity is highest in the tropical regions. ANTIQUITY Fossil record of Lepidoptera is sparse. Earliest known fossil is Archaeolepis mane from the Jurassic of Dorset in England .

48. MAJOR FEATURES Body and wings covered with minute scales that may be colored or iridescent. Have large compound eyes. Ocelli are present. Multisegmented antennae - pectinate in moth and clubbed in butterflies. Forewings and hindwings are linked by a frenulum or jugum . Mouthparts - long, coiled proboscis through which nectar can be sucked. Larvae called caterpillar are herbivorous. Caterpillar when fully grown spin a silk cocoon in which they pupate.

49. TAXONOMY This order is divided into 4 suborders: Zeugloptera - family Micropterigidae Aglossata - family Agathiphagidae Heterobathmiina - family Heterobathmiidae Glossata - 124 families(include 5 true butterfly families

50. MAJOR FAMILIES Butterflies Nymphalidae  ( brushfooted butterflies): includes the fritillaries, admirals, emperors, and tortoiseshells. Apatura iris ( Purple Emperor ) Vanessa atalanta ( Red Admiral )

51. Danaidae (milkweed butterflies) Danaus plexippus ( Monarch Butterfly) Hesperiidae  (skippers) Heteropterus morpheus

52. Pieridae  (whites and sulfurs) Phoebis sennae (C loudless sulfur) Papilionidae  (swallowtails) Papilio ulysses Cepora nerissa ( The Common Gull )

53. Atlides halesus ( Great Purple Hairstreak) Lycaeides melissa samuelis ( Karner Blue Butterfly) Lycaenidae  (blues, coppers and hairstreaks)

54. B) Moths Tineidae  (clothes moths) Acrolophidae ( Burrowing-webworm moths)   Amydria dyarella Reisserita chrysopterella

55. Sesiidae  (clearwing moths) Pyralidae  (snout moths) Pyropteron chrysidiformis ( clear wing moth) Macrochilo bivittata (two stripped snout moth)

56. Noctuidae ( loopers , owlet moths, and underwings ) Arctiidae (tiger moths)  Arctia caja (Great Tiger Moth) Elaphria cyanympha (owlet moth)

57. Saturniidae (Emperor moths, Giant Silk Moths) Argema mittrei (Comet Moth) Saturnia pavonia ( Emperor moth )

58. Acleris emargana Tortricidae ( Leafroller moths)

59. Epipyropidae ( Planthopper -parasite moths) Bombycidae (Silk worms/ Silk moths) Bombyx mori : larva Bombyx mori - adult Fulgoraecia_exigua ( Planthopper_Parasite Moth)

60. HYMENOPTERA (Greek hymen = membrane, pteron = wing) (English common names for subgroups: sawflies, wood wasps, bees, wasps, ants)

61. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION Includes approximately 132,000 recognized species. Worldwide distribution with the exception of Antarctica. ANTIQUITY Oldest definite members of the group are from the Triassic of Australia, Central Asia and Africa .

62. MAJOR FEATURES The wings are membranous and are joined by small rows of hooks called hamuli . Orthognathous head has large compound eyes, multisegmented antennae and 3 ocelli . Mouthparts - adapted for chewing and biting. But in bees a proboscis is present for collecting nectar. Show a diversity of lifestyle. They can be solitary or social, herbivorous or carnivorous or parasitic.

63. TAXONOMY The order is classified into 2 suborders: Symphyta (sawflies) Apocrita (wasps, bees and ants) Symphyta consists of 7 Superfamilies . Apocrita consists of 2 Infraorders : Aculeata (4 superfamilies ) Terebrantes (12 superfamilies )

64. A)SAWFLIES Diprionidae : conifer sawflies Tenthredinidae : common sawflies Diprion pini     Tenthredo mesomela MAJOR FAMILIES

65. Ichneumonidae : largest Hymenopteran family (Ichneumon wasps) Eucyrtidae : parasitoid of aphids Cremastinae_wasp ( Ichneumonidae ) B) PARASITIC WASPS fairy flies

66. Vespidae : paper wasps, yellow jackets Polistes dominula (paper wasps) C) SOCIAL WASPS

67. D) ANTS Formicidae : includes all ants E) SOLITARY BEES Megachilidae : leaf-cutting bees Anthophoridae : carpenter bees Anthidium manicatum Xylocopa violacea Oecophylla smaragdina ( Red Weaver ant )

68. F) SOCIAL BEES Apidae :bumble bees and honey bees Nest of red-tailed bumblebee.  Bombus lapidarius , showing wax pots full of honey

69. REFERENCES Chapman R.F., The Insects : Structure and Functions, V edition, Cambridge University Press,2013. Gullan P. J., Cranston P.S., The Insects : An Outline of Entomology, V edition, Wiley Blackwell, 2014. Beutel Rolf G., Friedrich Frank, Ge Si-Qin, Yang Xing- Ke , Insect Morphology and Phylogeny, De Gruyter Graduate , 2014. Tagholm Sally, Incredible Insects, Dorling Kindersley Publishings,New York,2009.

70. https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/course/ent425/library/compendium/trichoptera.html (accessed on: 17/08/2016 ) https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/course/ent425/library/compendium/hymenoptera.html (accessed on: 17/08/2016 ) https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/course/ent425/library/compendium/lepidoptera.html (accessed on: 17/08/2016 ) https://itis.gov (accessed on: 17/08/2016 ) https://en.wikipedia.org http://eol.org