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Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)Class Insecta (Insects) Synonyms and other taxonomic changes arrangement of major extant taxa based on molecular data in (1) Explanation of Names Insecta Linnaeus 1758 Latin insectum, pl. insecta "cut into, cut up" (refers to body segmentation), a literal translation of Greek entomos (εντομος) Numbers ~30 extant + a dozen extinct orders, up to 1000 families, and well over a million described species In our area (US & Canada): 28 orders, over 600 families, ca. 12,500 genera, and >86,000 spp.(2)(3) Identification Three pairs of legs Three body parts: head ▪ thorax ▪ abdomen typically two pair of wings; some groups have one pair or none See Glossary for terminology Habitat aquatic marine forms conspicuously absent Life Cycle Hemimetabolous insects (e.g., dragonflies, mayflies, true bugs, grasshoppers) undergo gradual, or incomplete, metamorphosis. Immature stages (usually called nymphs) go through a series of molts, gradually assuming an adult form. Since the wings develop on the outside of the body, these groups are called exopterygotes. Some orders have immature stages that are aquatic. These possess specialized structures for aquatic life, such as gills, and are called naiads, or larvae. Holometabolous insects (Endopterygota or Holometabola) have a four-stage life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult (imago). Neuroptera - Antlions, Lacewings and Allies Hymenoptera - Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies Trichoptera - Caddisflies Lepidoptera - Butterflies and Moths Mecoptera - Scorpionflies, Hangingflies and Allies Strepsiptera - Twisted-winged Insects Remarks All the winged insects (including those who have lost their wings over the course of history) constitute a taxon called Pterygota (sometimes treated as a subclass). Pterygota orders alphabetically Print References Stork N.E. (2018) How many species of insects and other terrestrial arthropods are there on Earth? Ann. Rev. Entomol. 63: 31‒45. Full text Works Cited 3.Evolution of the InsectsDavid Grimaldi and Michael S. Engel. 2005.4.How to Know the Immature InsectsHung-Fu Chu, Laurence K Cutkomp. 1992. Wm. C. Brown Publishers.
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