Insect scientists - or Entomologists to be more precise -
categorize groups of living entities as how they are related
through the theory of evolution. In an order, there are classes,
orders, suborders, families and genera, which constitute the
living things that procreate with one another.
More than 1 million of the categorized 2 million
species are arthropods, or insects (and spiders).
Class: Insecta
| Main
Orders |
Meaning |
Est.
# |
Examples |
| Coleoptera |
"hard
wings" |
400,000 |
Ladybugs |
| Lepidoptera |
"scaly
wings" |
150,000 |
Butterflies |
| Hymenoptera |
"membrane
wings" |
130,000 |
Ants and Bees |
| Diptera |
"two
wings" |
120,000 |
Mosquitoes |
| Hemiptera |
"half
wings" |
82,000 |
Cicadas |
| Orthoptera |
"straight
wings" |
20,500 |
Crickets |
| Trichoptera |
"hairy
wings" |
10,000 |
Caddis Flies |
| Collembola |
"sticky
peg" |
6,000 |
Springtails |
| Odonata |
"toothed
flies" |
5,500 |
Dragonflies |
| Neuroptera |
"net-veined
wings" |
5,000 |
Lacewings |
| Thysanoptera |
"fringed
wings" |
5,000 |
Thrips |
| Blattodea |
"insect
avoiding light" |
3,700 |
Cockroaches |
| Pscoptera |
"milled
wings" |
3,200 |
Woodlice |
| Phthiraptera |
"louse
wings" |
3,000 |
Lice |
| Phasmatodea |
"like
a ghost" |
2,500 |
Walking Stick |
| Siphonaptera |
"tube
without wings" |
2,400 |
Fleas |
| Isoptera |
"equal
wings" |
2,300 |
Termites |
| Ephemeroptera |
"living
for a day" |
2,100 |
Mayflies |
| Piecoptera |
"wickerwork
wings" |
2,000 |
Stoneflies |
| Dermaptera |
"leathery
wings" |
1,800 |
Earwigs |
| Mantodea |
"like
a prophet" |
1,800 |
Praying Mantis |
| Mecoptera |
"long
wings" |
400 |
Scorpion Flies |
| Thysanura |
"bristle
tails" |
370 |
Silverfish |
|
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
| Sub
Orders |
No
of Families |
Estimated
# |
Examples |
| Labidognatha |
90 |
32,000 |
House Spiders |
| Orthognatha |
15 |
3,000 |
Tarantulas |
| Mesothelae |
1 |
24 |
Segmented Spiders |
|
|
