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INSECT TAXONOMIC
DIVERSITY
By: Tyler Anderson
INSECT ORDER LIST:
Ephemeroptera
Orthoptera
Mantodea
Odonata
Coleoptera
Phasmida
Plecoptera
Blattaria
Isoptera
Dermatptera
Hemiptera
Lepidoptera
Diptera
Siphonoptera
Hymenoptera
EPHEMEROPTERA:

Mayflies are aquatic but similar body shape to the adults, they
have gills along the sides of their abdomen which look similar to
fine leaves

Mayflies.
ODONATA:

Dragonfly’s characteristically have large rounded heads covered
mostly by well-developed, compound eyes, two pairs of long,
transparent wings that move independently, and elongated
abdomens

Dragonflies and Damselflies
BLATTARIA:
•
eggs usually contained in ootheca
•
leathery forewings.
•
male genitalia asymmetrical
•
cerci variable, with one or more segments
•
Roaches
ISOPTERA:
•Pale, elongate body
•2 pairs of membranous wings of equal length. Wings are present in
reproductive castes only and shed after mating
•Mandibulate (chewing) mouthparts
Termites / White Ants
DERMATPTERA:

Earwigs have slender flattened body, bead-like antennae, and
are easily recognized by the pair of large pincers (cerci) at the
tip of the abdomen

Earwigs
ORTHOPTERA:

large descending lateral lobes, nymphalid wing rudiments
reversing their orientation in later instars and hind tibiae with two
dorsal teeth rows

Grasshoppers / Locusts / Crickets / Katydids
PHASMIDA:

Stick and Leaf-insects as their name implies are a medium sized
order of insects most of which look like sticks or leaves
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
COLEOPTERA:

hind wings folded under elytra, with reduced venation

hind two thoracic segments
(mesothorax+metathorax=pterothorax) broadly connected with
abdomen, so that the primary functional units of body are head /
prothorax / pterothorax + abdomen, rather than the more typical
head / thorax / abdomen of many other insects.

genitalia retracted into abdomen

Beetles / Weevils
LEPIDOPTERA:

Mouthparts form a coiled tube (proboscis) beneath the head

Antennal type:

Butterflies: knobbed or hooked at tip

Moths: thread-like, spindle-shaped, or comb-like

Front wings large, triangular; hind wings large, fan-shaped

Body and wings covered with small, overlapping scales

Butterflies / Moths
DIPTERA:

Antennae filiform, stylate, or aristate

Mouthparts suctorial (haustellate)

Mesothorax larger than pro- or metathorax

One pair of wings (front); hind wings reduced (halteres)

Tarsi 5-segmented

True Flies / Mosquitoes / Gnats / Midges
SIPHONOPTERA:

Body bilaterally flattened

Mouthparts suctorial (haustellate)

Large bristles (ctenidia) often present on head or thorax (genal
and pronotal combs)

Hind femur enlarged, adapted for jumping

Fleas
HYMENOPTERA:

Compound eyes well developed.

Tarsi usually 5-segmented.

Triangular stigma in front wings.

Hind wings smaller than front wings, linked together by small
hooks (hamuli).

Narrow junction (wasp waist) between thorax and abdomen except in sawflies and horntails.

Ants / Wasps / Bees / Sawflies / Horntails
MANTODEA:

Filiform antennae

Head triangular with well-developed compound eyes

Mouthparts mandibulate, hypognathous

Prothorax elongate with large, spiny front legs adapted for
catching prey

Front wings thickened, more slender than hind wings

Mantids / Praying Mantids
PLECOPTERA:

Antennae long, filiform

Front wings long and narrow; M-Cu crossveins form distinctive
boxes near center of front wing

Hind wings shorter than front wings; basal area of hind wing
enlarged and pleated

Cerci long, multi-segmented

Stoneflies
THE END