Insect Order

Examples(s)

Characteristics

Ephemeroptera

Mayflies

Fragile insects with two pairs of wings: a triangular front pair and a rounded rear pair. In many species, adults die within hours or days after reaching maturity.

Odonata

Dragonflies,damselflies

Characterized by short antennae, keen vision, and four large wings, which are often brightly colored.

Plecoptera

Stoneflies

Ancient group of insects whose early stages occur in water. Adults commonly have delicate, transparent wings and long antennae.

Grylloblattodea

Cricket-cockroaches

Rare, ancient insects with characteristics that are intermediate between crickets and cockroaches.

Orthoptera

Grasshoppers,crickets

High-jumping insects, most of which can use their forewings to produce sounds.

Phasmida

Walking sticks

Includes both stick-insects, which resemble sticks, and leaf-insects, which look like leaves. Living in dense shrubbery in tropical regions, these insects are primarily vegetarian.

Dermaptera

Earwigs

Characterized by large, delicate wings and pincers at the ends of their abdomens. The common earwig is often found in gardens, where it feeds on wastes.

Embioptera

Web-spinners

Small insects that live communally and are most common in the tropics. Construct silk-lined tunnels and webs beneath stones and in the soil.

Dictyoptera

Cockroaches,mantids

Hardy insects with triangular heads, long antennae, and fan-like wings. Cockroaches are mainly waste-feeders, and they are active at night. Mantids capture prey in the daytime; they are often camouflaged to resemble leaves or flowers.

Isoptera

Termites

Social, nest-building insects with soft, whitish or colorless bodies and strong biting mouthparts. Nest populations range from a few dozen members to hundreds of thousands.

Zoraptera

Angel wings

Extremely small insects found in warm, humid climates, often in decaying wood. Both winged and wingless forms may occur in the same species.

Psocoptera

Book-lice

Very small, scavenging insects, often with round abdomens. Commonly found indoors, often beneath peeling wallpaper, in upholstery, or in the bindings of old books. Both adults and larvae can spin silk.

Mallophaga

Biting lice

Minute, wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for chewing rather than piercing. Typically found in the skin of birds and sometimes mammals, where they feed on skin fragments, skin secretions, feathers, and hair.

Anoplura

Sucking lice

Tiny insects similar to biting lice, except that mouthparts are adapted for sucking. Found in the skin of birds and mammals, they contribute to the spread of some diseases, including typhus

fever.

Hemiptera

True bugs

Characterized by sucking mouthparts used for feeding on either plant or animal tissues.

Homoptera

aphids,

cicadas

Characterized by sucking mouthparts used for feeding on plants and animals tissues

Thysanoptera

Thrips

Minute insects with a fringe of fine hairs bordering each edge of their wings. Sometimes called thunder-flies because they are particularly active in summer thunderstorms.