Note antennae…this is a
hummingbird hawk moth
A moth who pretends to
be a wasp
Great Lep
Impersonations…
Not only leafshaped, but a dead
leaf on the ground with damage…
Order Thysanura – Silverfish and
Firebrats
Relatively primitive insects…soft bodied characterized by no
wings, three filaments at the tip of the abdomen and long
slender antennae.
Aquatic…adults emerge
synchronously and are
around for only 2 days
(ephemeral = short time)
Long slender bodies. Front
wings are large, and
triangular, hind wings much
smaller. Held vertically over
the body. Three caudal
filaments on abdomen.
Mouthparts are vestigial
since they do not feed.
Order
Emphemeroptera Mayflies
Also aquatic…2 pairs of wings
roughly equal in size held flat on
the body. Long, slender
antennae. A pair of caudal
filaments (mayflies 3). They
also emerge in large
hatches…fish are unlikely to be
able to catch them all as rise up
through the water column to
emerge…good population
insurance
Order Plecoptera Stoneflies
Another aquatic…trichoptera
= hairy wing. Wings held in
an “A-frame” position across
abdomen. Long, thin
antennae.
Order Trichoptera Caddisflies
1 mm
Order Thysanoptera
- Thrips
Small….key characteristic here are
the fringed wings. Chewing
mouthparts but asymmetrical…one
functional mandible, the other
vestigial
Order Siphonaptera - Fleas
Presence of a genal comb on the head
(above)…Strongly flattened body (top
right)…allows efficient movement through
hairs, almost like a person running
through a forest. Large segments on hind
legs for jumping (right). Flea trivia…an
adult flea can sit motionless for a year
waiting for a host like your dog or cat to
come along…
Body is highly
flattened…legs have
prominent claws (right) the
claws are perfect for
grasping hair on your
head, or other parts of
your body…ok, the photo
below are pubic lice…there
is beauty in form as well as
function…Two
kinds…chewing and
sucking lice. Interesting in
that this group is highly
specialized on birds and
mammals…and, very host
specific.
Order Phthiraptera Lice
Order Mecoptera – Scorpionflies
Characterized by mouthparts giving it the look of a “long face”.
The male genetalia make them look like a scorpion…
Order Odonata –
Dragonflies &
Damselflies
Large Eyes…good vision, since
they can take prey on-the-wing.
Spindle shaped antennae. Well
developed mandibles (see
above…very impressive). These
are damselflies.
Two pairs of semitransparent wings. Long
slender abdomen.
One of the earliest flying
insects. Fossil records show
early dragonflies with
wingspans of 24 inches…they
don’t make ‘em like they used
to.
Another cool feature of
dragonflies…they have legs, but
how important are they?...ever
see one walk? Check out this
site…
http://blog.insectmuseum.org/?
p=4020
Dragonfly wings are held out against the
body (top left)…damselfly wings are
held back along the body (above). The
folding of wings was an important
evolutionary development…this allowed
insects to exploit smaller spaces…
One interesting aspect is that the wings
have independent musculature…while
one pair of wings is up the other pair is
down (left). A number of insects solved
flight differently later on to gain
efficiency…
A large economically
important group. Two
pairs of membranous
wings that are joined
together…hymenoptera
= married wing.
Often, the abdomen is
highly constricted
where it joins the
abdomen, “wasp waist”
Sawflies are the
exception…
Many wasps like this
paper wasp are
predacious, but MOST
are parasitic…
A number of members
in this order are social
insects, predominantly
female with complex
behaviors…
Order Hymenoptera - Wasps
See The Insect Societies…E.O. Wilson
Asian Giant Hornet…aka
Yak-Killer
2“
Hymenopterans have a very large
size range like this giant hornet
(note to self, do not personally
pose with this creature cause it
can hurt you) down to very small,
like this fairy wasp.
How small is a fairy wasp???
Fairy Wasp…
100 microns
Like ameoba and other single
cell organism-sized….this is
remarkable.
Order Hymenoptera Wasps
Many wasps have developed a lifestyle of parasitism. The
ichneumon on the left has an ovipositor allowing her to lay eggs
on a host from a long distance, like 2 inches away…this one is
looking for a wood boring beetle larva. The girl on the right has
an abdomen that let’s her go underground to find scarab
larvae…June bugs. The Wolbachia Project Nasonia controls are
parasitic wasps.
A lot of parasitic wasps are quite small. On the left is a
Trichogramma wasp. They typically parasitize caterpillar
eggs…in fact, she measures the size of the egg to determine
how many eggs she will insert.
Trichogramma is widely utilized in agriculture as a biological
control agent. You can purchase trichogramma pupae
“glued” to cards…a card that measures about 6 by 8 inches
may contain 100,000 Trichogramma pupae.
This is a braconid wasp showing general hymenopteran characteristics.
This particular one parasitized a tomato hornworm larva. Note the
numerous pupae that resulted from larva completing their meals. All
of these pupae were derived from a single egg, a biological
phenomenon known as polyembryony. The egg divides, then splits
repeatedly. This conserves the energy investment in egg-laying by
the wasp…
Order Hymenoptera Bees
Bees are incredibly important…the honey
bee (top left) has been domesticated and
pollinates over 80 crops worldwide…they
evolved in Old World Persia, present day
Iran. The bumblebee (above) is native
to N. America…read Bumblebee
Economics by Bern Heinrich, incredible,
one of my favorite natural history books.
Bumblebees and mason bees (left) are
important as well. There are about 800
species of bees in North America…much
to be learned…
For whatever
reason, knowledge
of bees and
pheromones has
created a very
different platform
for artistic
expression…
Order
Hymenoptera Ants
Clubbed antennae (left)
and the constricted
“waist” between the
thorax and abdomen.
Ants below are
collecting (farming)
honeydew from a
planthopper. Ants are
incredibly diverse and
like springtails and
termites could be at the
top of the biomass
pyramid.
Termites – sometimes confused with
ants…Hymenoptera
Note: Ant (clubbed antennae, pinched
waist) Termite (filiform antennae, abdomen
as wide as thorax)
Some creatures evolved to
look like ants and avoid
predators – crab spider
(below), treehopper (right,
Order Homoptera)
Order Dermaptera - Earwigs
Cerci are forceps-like. In
general, cerci are sensory
organs.
Order Hemiptera - Bugs
Front wing usally thickened at
base, membranous at tip.
Antennae (if present) long.
Beaklike mouthparts. Center of
thorax triangular.
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This is why Hemipterans
make great models for
the people that make
movies about predatory
space aliens…Hymenops
are not far behind.
May Berenbaum,
Professor of Entomology
and Deptartment Head
at the University of
Illinois, has organized an
insect film fear festival
for a number of
years…she rocks
Some are beneficial predators. Others feed
on plants and can be significant agricultural
pests.
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug was introduced in 1998
(Pennsylvania), an invasive species that is just
spreading into New England. It causes significant plant
damage, and can enter homes in the fall (in BIG
numbers) to spend the winter…
Order Homoptera –
planthoppers,
treehoppers, cicadas &
aphids
Hoppers – Bristle-like antennae, beak
mouthparts. Some have a segment on
the thorax very pronounced like this
treehopper (above right).
Cicada – Note membranous wings and bristle-like antennae.
Some cicadas spend 7, 13 or 17 years as nymphs in the soil and
emerge synchronously, and are VERY Loud…too cool
Bristle-like antennae,
large membranous
wings
Aphids – Softbodied. Long
antennae and cornicles on
the abdomen…cornicles
secrete defensive chemicals
like waxes.
Aphids with wings lay eggs.
Wingless females (below
right) reproduce without
mating. They can give live
birth to aphids that are
already pregnant, so
populations can grow very
quickly.
5 mm or
less
Order Psocoptera
– Bark Lice
Wings (if present) four in number
and held rooflike. Antennae long
and slender. 2 or 3 tarsal
segments at end of leg.
Order Isoptera –
Termites (aka “social
cockroaches”)
Adults have 2 pairs of wings.
Workers and soldiers are not
sexually mature and should not
be used for this project. Adults
typically emerge as a swarm.
Slide 47 showed the differences
between adult termites and ants.
Soldier
caste
Adults
Worker caste
Order Dictyoptera – Cockroaches and Mantids
Cockroaches – Flattened body with head concealed from above.
Wings usually present, 2 pairs, long antennae. Wood roaches
(not a household pest) are quite common and fly to outdoor
lights in May, during mating season.
Mantids – Very distinctive.
Adults have 2 pair of
wings. Front legs are
raptorial, for grabbing
prey. Tropical species
mimic leaves or flowers,
very clever for an ambush
predator…
Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets) vs
Dictyoptera, similar in a number of respects.
Cockroaches and mantids used to be
classified as Orthoptera…splitters win again
Orthoptera have a robust
cylindrical body. Cockroaches
are flattened.
Order Coleoptera Beetles
Front wings typcally hard or
leathery. Hind wings
membranous. Chewing
mouthparts.
Ladybird Beetle – Massachusetts
State Insect. Named in 1974.
The campaign was led by a class
of second graders in Franklin
Beetles are the most diverse insect
order…they account for about 25% of
total animal species on the planet!!!
Order Neuroptera: lacewings, antlions, owlflies
Neuropterans in a number of
cases look like they were
constructed out of leftover parts
of other orders. They have 2
pairs of membranous wings. Five
tarsal segments. Antennae can
be long and thin or clubbed.
Not a stonefly….fishfly, Order Neuroptera
…Aquatic, like a stonefly but no cerci…
Not a paper
wasp….mantisfly, Order
Neuroptera
…note front legs,
raptorial
Not a dragonfly….owlfly,
Order Neuroptera
…note long antennae
OK team
Wolbachia…start
your PCR engines…
Note, this is not the
last slide…but we
are done with the
basic orders that you
will find…
I lifted pictures for this deck from a number of
sources. But I recommend you check out this
site in particular:
www.alexanderwild.com
Alex is a professor of entomology at the
University of Illinois. He is an awesome insect
photographer…definitely check this site out…
www.flickr.com also has a lot of very cool
material acquired from many sources
Insect Collecting Tips
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Habitats like open meadows are very rich in species composition
Rip apart logs, look under bark…good source of psocids
Flowering plants attract many insects…you may find ambush bugs
(Order Hemiptera) that have the same coloration as the flower
Hang a white sheet and place a black light to illuminate it….you
can find some really cool insects this way, especially if you are
next to a pond or a stream
Piles of dead leaves with some soil can be put into a Berlese
funnel (easy to make). Great way to collect springtails, ground
Inbeetles and creatures like whip scorpions (they do not sting)
Window sills and light fixtures…better than you think
Farms or gardens…growers will gladly let you take away their
bugs like Colorado potato beetle, striped cucumber beetle,
mexican bean beetle, flea beetles, etc.
Put out a saucer with cider vinegar and a drop of dish
detergent…fruit fly party
Inspect spider webs
Spending time outside learning about
ecological habitats is great.
Deer ticks and their ability to vector three
very significant diseases is a real thing.
The bright spot in this is that tick-borne
illnesses are entirely preventable
See www.capecodextension.org
Natural Resources page (it’s moving to
Hort soon) Check out the tab on
education, A Guide to the Prevention of
Tick-borne Diseases…it’s not just about
Lyme anymore.
…Do not let one bite Change your life,
cause it can…
The End
I am always available for
insect ID/collecting help
508-375-6642
ldapsis@barnstablecounty.org
This is a bumble bee, one of
my favorites from a number of
reasons (see Bumblebee
Economics B. Heinrich) Also,
these are workers, so not part
of your project…just consider
them a wicked cool, native
North American pollinator…