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KEY TO PRINCIPAL INSECT ORDERS of Medical Importance (Adults) (Contact)
Please CLICK on underlined links to view images or to navigate
within the key: Search for Subjects with Ctrl/F By the 21st Century there
have been over one_million insect species described, due to the efforts of
many specialists in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Morphological differences have been the primary criteria for
distinguishing species, but biological studies showing incompatibility and
DNA evidence attests to the existence of exponentially more species than
earlier believed. Because of their
multitudes it is possible for natural selection to operate on more individuals
than most other animal groups. The
ability of insect populations to develop resistance to insecticides in just a
few years after applications is evidence for a comparatively rapid evolution
capability. The Class Insecta is divided into two subclasses:
Apterygota and Pterygota. The
Apterygota include the wingless Thysanura, while all the other insects belong
the Pterygota even if some of them are wingless through the process of
evolution from more primitive ancestors [See: Insect
Classification]. Four orders of
greatest medical importance are Diptera, Hemiptera, Phthiraptera and
Siphonaptera.
The other orders of lesser importance include species that at times
may carry pathogens or cause injury to humans and animals; they are Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Orthoptera. An all-inclusive key to
Insecta may be found at <Insect Guide>. However, the following key includes only those
orders that are of greatest medical importance to humans and animals.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ Key References: <medvet.ref.htm> <Hexapoda> Matheson, R. 1950. Medical Entomology. Comstock Publ. Co, Inc. 610 p. Service, M. 2008. Medical
Entomology For Students. Cambridge
Univ. Press. 289 p Legner, E. F. 1995. Biological control of Diptera of medical and veterinary
importance. J. Vector Ecology 20(1):
59_120. Legner, E. F. 2000.
Biological control of aquatic Diptera. p. 847_870.
Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera, Vol. 1, Science Herald, Budapest. 978 p. |