Key to Ten Insect Orders

Key to Ten Insect Orders

 

Leaf-footed Bug, family CoreidaeSee if you can “key out” the insect at the left. Note that the wings on the insect’s right are forced open. When this species is at rest, its back wings are hidden beneath its front wings. Also, you can’t see the mouth parts, but they are of the “sucking” type.

 

 

 

1a  Wings absent or if present hidden beneath thick, sometimes hard and    shiny, sometimes leathery, front wings, or wing coverings (Be careful here. If there’s a crack down the back, probably that’s where the front wings or wing coverings meet and there are regular flying wings folded below…)Go to…    7
1b   Wings clearly visible when the insect is at rest Go to..   2
2a  Butterflies & moths; mouthparts consisting of coiled tubes for sucking; wings covered with tiny colored scalesLEPIDOPTERA; butterflies & moths
2b  Not butterflies & moths; mouthparts not coiled tubes; wings not covered with tiny  colored scalesGo to..    3
3a  One pair of wingsDIPTERA; flies
3b   Two pairs of wingsGo to..   4
4a Front wings longer and with considerably larger surface area than hind wingsGo to..   5
4b Front wings with about the same area as hind wingsGo to..   6
5a  Wasps and bees; tarsi (“feet”) 5-jointed, usually thin-waistedHYMENOPTERA; wasps & bees
5b   Not wasp or bees; tarsi 2- or 3-jointed, waist usually thickHOMOPTERA; cicadas, aphids
6a Antennae short stubs, compound eyes very large, body slenderODONATA; dragonflies
6b Antennae hairlike, eyes not particularly large,thick-bodiedISOPTERA; termites
7 a  Wings entirely absentGo to..    8
7 b  With wings, though they may be hidden beneath a wing coveringGo to..    12
8a  Bodies narrow-waisted, antlikeHYMENOPTERA; wasps & bees
8b  Bodies thickerGo to..    9
9a   Egg-shaped, rear end usually equipped with 2 short tubes (aphids)HOMOPTERA; cicadas, aphids
9b   Bodies more slender shaped, rear end without 2 short tubes (not aphids)Go to..   10
10a  Most of body whitish, soft-bodied (termites)ISOPTERA; termites
10b  Most of body not whitish, usually hard-bodiedGo to..    11
11a   Antennae with 4 or 5 segments, mouth parts suckingHEMIPTERA; true bugs
11b   Antennae with many segments, mouth parts chewingORTHOPTERA; grasshoppers, crickets
12a  Rear end (abdomen) with tweezerlike appendagesDERMAPTERA; earwigs
12   Rear end without tweezers-like appendagesGo to..    13
13a   Mouth parts sucking, usually straw-likeGo to..    14
13b  Mouth parts for chewingGo to..    15
14a   Front wings thick (leathery) and often colored at the base, but clear at the tip; beak rises from head’s front or bottomHEMIPTERA; true bugs
14   Front wings of same texture throughout; beak rises from back part of bottom of headHOMOPTERA; cicadas, aphids
15 Front wings with obvious veins, when at rest the edges over the back often partly overlapping one another, usually not conspicuously hardORTHOPTERA; grasshoppers, crickets
15b   Front wings without veins, when at rest the edges over the back meeting one another in a straight line, usually hard like thin plasticCOLEOPTERA; beetles

 

 

MODIFIED FROM BACKYARD NATURE