Insect Key Part 4

David A Kendall BSc PhD
Consulting Entomologist

2 Birchdene Nailsea Bristol BS48 1QD UK
Tel/Fax: 01275 854224
E-Mail: [email protected]

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Insect Identification

Key to the main Orders of Insects - Part 4

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(insect without wings - terrestrial - no terminal appendages)
56a.	Insect living as a parasite on a warm-blooded animal or closely associated with such an animal (i.e. on the body or in the nest or den of a bird or mammal)	57
56b.	Insect not parasitic on a warm-blooded animal	61

57a.	Body flattened from side to side (jumping insect)	Siphonaptera
57b.	Body flattened from top to bottom	58

58a.	Head partly withdrawn into the thorax	59
58b.	Head not withdrawn into the thorax	60

59a.	Antennae short and inconspicuous (much shorter than the head); legs with strong and distinctly hooked tarsal claws	Diptera
59b.	Antennae long and conspicuous (more than twice the length of the head); legs with small and only slightly curved tarsal claws	Hemiptera

60a.	At least the prothorax distinct from the other thoracic segments; legs with small tarsal claws; mouth-parts with jaws (mandibles) for biting	Mallophaga
60b.	All the thoracic segments fused into a single unit; legs with large tarsal claws which can close tightly against the legs; mouth-parts forming a tube-like proboscis for piercing and sucking (proboscis retracted within the head when not in use)	Siphunculata

61a.	Antennae absent (minute soil-living insects usually less than 2 mm long)	Protura
61b.	Antennae present	62

62a.	Abdomen strongly constricted at its base into a narrow petiole or 'waist'; antennae often bent into an elbowed shape	Hymenoptera
62b.	Abdomen not constricted into a 'waist'; antennae more or less straight	63

63a.	Body covered with dense scales and flattened hairs	Lepidoptera
63b.	Body bare or with sparse bristle-like hairs	64

64a.	Mouth-parts forming a tube-like proboscis or rostrum for piercing and/or sucking (often folded backwards under the head when not in use)	65
64b.	Mouth-parts with jaws (mandibles) for biting and/or chewing	67

65a.	Tarsi usually 5-segmented	Diptera
65b.	Tarsi with fewer than 5 segments	66

66a.	Proboscis small and cone shaped (much shorter in length than the head) (small slender insect often found in flowers)	Thysanoptera
66b.	Proboscis or rostrum long and jointed (nearly always longer than the head) (abdomen sometimes with tubular outgrowths or cornicles near the hind end)	Hemiptera

67a.	Antennae short and often inconspicuous (at most about the same length as the head)	68
67b.	Antennae long and conspicuous (much longer than the head)	69

68a.	Abdomen with 6 segments or fewer	Collembola
68b.	Abdomen with more than 6 segments (usually 8 or more clearly visible)	(Larvae of various Orders)

69a.	Head narrower than the body; mandibles very long and protruding forward well in front of the head (clearly visible from above)	Larvae of Neuroptera
69b.	Head as wide or nearly as wide as the body; mandibles small and not protruding in front of the head (not visible from above)	Psocoptera

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Last revised January 2009