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Entomology:  ZORAPTERA 1

Kingdom:  Animalia, Phylum: Insecta: Zoraptera

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Pteragota:  Paurometabola

  Order:  Zoraptera (1 Family)

    General Summary

    Distribution & Habits

    References   Citations

    Examinations

 

General Summary of Zoraptera

 

          All species of the Zoraptera are tiny insects, winged or wingless, with nine-jointed moniliform antennae.  Winged species hve compound eyes and ocelli, but wingless species lack both.  They have chewing mouthparts.  The two pairs of wings have a reduced venation, and are capable of being shed by basal fractures as in the Isoptera (termites).  Metamorphosis is simple.  Zoraptera are closely allied to the Psocoptera.

 

Distribution & Habits

 

          They have a wide distribution in the warmer parts of world. They live in colonies and some caste differentiation exists. An example is Zorotypus of West Africa (Borradaile & Potts, 1958).  They are found under piles of wood in sawdust or under bark and in rotting logs.  They feed on fungal spores and small dead arthropods.

 

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Details of Insect Taxonomic Groups

 

          Examples of beneficial species occur in almost every insect order, and considerable information on morphology and habits has been assembled.  Therefore, the principal groups of insect parasitoids and predators provide details that refer to the entire class Insecta.  These details are available at <taxnames.htm>.

 

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References

 

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