Zoraptera Temporal range:
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Zorotypus from Los Bancos, Pichincha, Ecuador | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Subclass: | Pterygota |
Infraclass: | Neoptera |
Cohort: | Polyneoptera |
Order: | Zoraptera Silvestri, 1913 |
Families | |
Diversity | |
51 species |
The insect order Zoraptera, commonly known as angel insects, contains small and soft bodied insects with two forms: winged with wings sheddable as in termites, dark and with eyes (compound) and ocelli (simple); or wingless, pale and without eyes or ocelli. They have a characteristic nine-segmented beaded (moniliform) antenna. They have mouthparts adapted for chewing and are mostly found under bark, in dry wood or in leaf litter.[1]