13: Insects Flashcards
What are hemimetabolous?
Insects that have nymphs Moult Gradual growth Can still have radical change- eg. aquatic to aerial Also called Exopterygota
What are holometabolus?
Insects that have a larval stage and a pupa
Allows organisms to exploit different niches
Eg. butterflies
Also called Endopterygota
Why did metamorphosis evolve?
Exploiting plants/niches
What is the only insect lineage to go extinct?
Paleodictyopterida
What was Paleodictyopterida?
Giant flying insect, 290 mya
Wingspan up to 55cm
Don’t know why disappeared- doesn’t correlate with decreasing O2
Scientific name for beetles
Coleoptera
Coleoptera features
Over 350,000 species
Forewing is hardened into an elytron
95% are herbivorous
What are the 2 insect subclasses?
Apterygota- wingless
Pterygota- winged
What are wingless insects called?
Apterygota
2 orders
What are winged insects called?
Pterygota
30 orders
Largest insect
Weta insects
71g
Smallest insect
Tanzanian parasitic wasp
0.3mm
Scorpion flies scientific name
Mecoptera
Mecoptera features
Predators or saprophages
Used in forensics- only feed on fresh corpses
Dragon/damselflies scientific name
Odonata
Odonata features
Carnivorous
Aquatic stage- most of life is spent as larvae
Hover and fly backwards
Male sexual organ removes sperm from previous mate
Mate guarding
Difference between dragonflies and damselflies
Dragonflies = perpendicular sings, big eyes Damselflies = parallel wings, bulbous eyes
What are myrmeleontidae?
Antlions
Myrmeleontidae features
Eat ants
Larvae bury in soil- sarlacc pit
Don’t get the in the UK
What are Chrysopidae?
Lacewings
What are Ascalaphidae?
Owlflies
What are Mantispidae?
Mantidflies
Mantispidae features
Tropical
Larvae can be parasitic on spiders or beetles
Not flies or mantids
What are Hymenoptera?
Ants, bees, wasps, saw-flies
Second largest insect order (after Coleoptera)
