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Insect Taxonomic Diversity
BY: MARCUS MORALES
Insect Orders
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
1.
Ephemeroptera
1.
Orthoptera
1.
Diptera
2.
Odonata
2.
Phasmida
2.
Siphonoptera
3.
Blattaria
3.
Hemiptera
3.
Hymenoptera
4.
Isopteria
4.
Coleoptera
4.
Mantodea
5.
Dermatptera
5.
Lepidoptera
5.
Plecoptera
Ephemeroptera

The name Ephemeroptera is derived from the Greek "ephemera" meaning short-lived, and "ptera" meaning wings. This is a
reference to the short lifespan of most adult mayflies.

The immature stages of mayflies are aquatic. They generally live in unpolluted habitats with fresh, flowing water. Some
species are active swimmers, others are flattened and cling to the underside of stones, a few are burrowers who dig Ushaped tunnels in the sand or mud. Most species are herbivorous. Their diet consists primarily of algae and other aquatic
plant life scavenged from surrounding habitat. Some species mature quickly, in as little as four weeks, while others develop
more slowly (one to four years per generation
).
Odonata
The name Odonata, derived from the Greek "odonto-", meaning tooth, refers to
the strong teeth found on the mandibles of most adults.
Dragonflies and damselflies are predaceous both as immatures and adults. The
adults are quick, agile fliers that are generally considered beneficial because they
feed on large numbers of small, flying insects like gnats and mosquitos. Legs are
used either as a basket for catching prey or as grapples for clinging to emergent
vegetation. Eggs are laid singly in fresh water; females often hover over open
water and dip their abdomen as they oviposit.
Blattaria

The Blattaria includes the roaches, from the six-inch tropical roaches
of South America to their small cousins that are probably tiptoeing
through your kitchen right now. There are about 4,000 species
worldwide.Roaches arose in the Pennsylvanian period, about 280
million years ago, and have not changed much since. Compare
the photograph of the living cockroach at the top of the page with
this picture, depicting the 260 million-year-old, three-inch fossil roach
Mylacris, and you'll see that roaches have not undergone any
sweeping changes in their form in all that time, a phenomenon
known to evolutionary biologists as stasis.
Isoptera

The name Isoptera, derived from the Greek "iso" meaning equal and
"ptera" meaning wings, refers to the similar size, shape, and venation
of the four wings.

The termites are another group of insects that appear to be closely
related to cockroaches. This conclusion is based on behavioral and
ecological similarities between termites and wood roaches
(members of the family Cryptocercidae).
Dermaptera

Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera and are found
throughout the Americas, Africa, Eurasia, Australia and New
Zealand. With about 2,000 species[1] in 12 families, they are one of
the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of
forceps pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded
underneath short forewings, hence the scientific order name, "skin
wings." Some groups are tiny parasites on mammals and lack the
typical pincers. Earwigs rarely use their flying ability.
Orthoptera

Orthoptera is an order of insects with paurometabolous or
incomplete metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, crickets,
cave crickets, Jerusalem crickets, katydids, weta, lubber, Acrida,
and locusts. Many insects in this order produce sound (known as a
"stridulation") by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs,
the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps. The
tympanum or ear is located in the front tibia in crickets, mole
crickets, and katydids, and on the first abdominal segment in the
grasshoppers and locusts.[1] These organisms use vibrations to locate
other individuals.
Phasmida

The Phasmatodea (sometimes called Phasmida or Phasmatoptera)
are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick
insects (in Europe and Australasia), walking sticks or stick-bugs (in
the United States and Canada), phasmids, ghost insects and leaf
insects (generally the family Phylliidae). The ordinal name is derived
from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or
phantom, and refers to the resemblance of many species to sticks or
leaves. Their natural camouflage can make them extremely difficult
to spot. Phasmatodea can be found all over the world in warmer
zones, especially the tropics and subtropics. The greatest diversity is
found in Southeast Asia and South America, followed by Australia.
Phasmids also have a considerable presence in the continental
United States, mainly in the Southeast.
Hemiptera

Most people tend to call anything with lots of legs a "bug." However, to an entomologist, a "bug" is
one of the 35,000 or so species of the order Hemiptera. Hemiptera means "half wing" and refers to
the fact that part of the first pair of wings is toughened and hard, while the rest of the first pair and
the second pair are membranous. Hemipterans also have modified piercing and sucking
mouthparts; some suck plant juices and are plant pests, while others can bite painfully.

A possibly paraphyletic group of insects known as the Homoptera is sometimes included within the
Hemiptera, even though they lack the toughened areas on the first pair of wings. Some
entomologists group both Hemiptera and Homoptera within the group Heteroptera; others use
the name Heteroptera for what we have called the Hemiptera and use Hemiptera for the
Heteroptera. Confused? So are we. Anyway, the Homoptera have the dubious distinction of
being probably the most destructive insects of all. They include aphids, leafhoppers, cicadas, and
scale insects: 45,000 species in all.
Coleoptera

The Coleoptera /koʊliːˈɒptərə/ 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,
the front pair, the "elytra", being hardened and thickened into a shell-like protection
for the rear pair and the beetle's abdomen. The superficial consistency of most
beetles' morphology, in particular their possession of elytra, has long suggested that
the Coleoptera are monophyletic, but growing evidence indicates this is unjustified,
there being arguments for example, in favor of allocating the current suborder
Adephaga their own order, or very likely even more than one.[
Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera (/ˌlɛpɨˈdɒptərə/ lep-i-DOP-tər-ə) is a large order of insects that includes
moths and butterflies (both called lepidopterans). It is one of the most widespread
and widely recognizable insect orders in the world,[1] 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 λεπίδος (scale) and
πτερόν (wing).[2] Comprising an estimated 174,250 species,[3] in 126 families[4] and 46
superfamilies,[3] 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,[5] and is among
the four most speciose orders, along with the Hymenoptera, Diptera, and the
Coleoptera.[
Diptera

True flies are insects of the order Diptera (from the Greek di = two,
and ptera = wings). Their most obvious distinction from other orders
of insects is that a typical fly possesses a pair of flight wings on the
mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on
the metathorax. (Some species of flies are exceptional in that they
are secondarily flightless). The only other order of insects bearing
two true, functional wings plus any form of halteres are the
Strepsiptera, and in contrast to the flies, the Strepsiptera bear their
halteres on the mesothorax and their flight wings on the metathorax.
Siphonoptera

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 and birds.

Fleas are wingless insects (1/16 to 1/8-inch (1.5 to 3.3 mm) long) that are agile, usually
dark colored (for example, the reddish-brown of the cat flea), with tube-like mouthparts adapted to feeding on the blood of their hosts. Their legs are long, the hind pair
well adapted for jumping: a flea can jump vertically up to 7 inches (18 cm) and
horizontally up to 13 inches (33 cm),[3] making the flea one of the best jumpers of all
known animals (relative to body size), second only to the froghopper.
Hymenoptera

The Hymenoptera are one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies,
wasps, bees and ants. Over 150,000 species are recognized, with many more
remaining to be described. The name refers to the wings of the insects, and is derived
from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν (hymen): membrane and πτερόν (pteron): wing. The
hind wings are connected to the fore wings by a series of hooks called hamuli.

Females typically have a special ovipositor for inserting eggs into hosts or otherwise
inaccessible places. The ovipositor is often modified into a stinger. The young develop
through holometabolism, (complete metamorphosis) — that is, they have a worm-like
larval stage and an inactive pupal stage before they mature.
Mantodea

Mantodea (or mantises, mantes) is an order of insects that contains over 2,400 species and about
430 genera[1] in 15 families worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. Most of the species are
in the family Mantidae.

The English common name for the order is the mantises, or rarely (using a Latinized plural of Greek
mantis), the mantes. The name mantid refers only to members of the family Mantidae, which was,
historically, the only family in the Order, but with 14 additional families recognized in recent
decades, this term can be confusing. The other common name, often applied to any species in
the order, is "praying mantis",[2] because of the typical "prayer-like" posture with folded fore-limbs,
although the eggcorn "preying mantis" is sometimes used in reference to their predatory
habits.[3][4] In Europe and other regions, however, the name "praying mantis" refers to only a single
species, Mantis religiosa. The closest relatives of mantises are the termites and cockroaches (order
Blattodea). They are sometimes confused with phasmids (stick/leaf insects) and other elongated
insects such as grasshoppers and crickets, or other insects with raptorial forelegs such as
mantisflies.
Plecoptera

The Plecoptera are an order of insects, commonly known as stoneflies. Some 3,500 species are
described worldwide,[1] with new species still being discovered. Stoneflies are found worldwide,
except Antarctica.[2] Stoneflies are believed to be one of the most primitive groups of Neoptera,
with close relatives identified from the Carboniferous and Lower Permian geological periods, while
true stoneflies are known from fossils only a bit younger. The modern diversity, however,
apparently is of Mesozoic origin.[3]

Plecoptera are found in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, and the populations are
quite distinct, although the evolutionary evidence suggests species may have crossed the
equator on a number of occasions before once again becoming geographically isolated.[4][3]

All species of Plecoptera are intolerant of water pollution, and their presence in a stream or still
water is usually an indicator of good or excellent water quality.[
The End