Exopterygota
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| Missing image Aust_blue_dragonfly02.jpg Australian Blue Dragonfly Australian Blue Dragonfly | ||||||||||||||||
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Ephemeroptera |
The Exopterygota, also known as Hemipterodea, are a superorder of insects of the subclass Pterygota, in which the young resemble adults but have externally-developing wings. They undergo a modest change between larva and adult, without going through a pupal stage. The larvae develop gradually into adults through a process of moulting.
The Exopterygota are a highly diverse insect superorder, with at least 130,000 known species divided between eighteen orders. They include termites, dragonflies, thrips, lice and stick insects, among many other types of insect.
They are distinguished from the Endopterygota (or Holometabola) by the way in which their wings develop. Endopterygota (meaning literally "internal winged forms") develop wings inside the body and undergo an elaborate metamorphosis involving a pupal stage. Exopterygota ("external winged forms") develop wings on the outside of their bodies without going through a pupal stage.
Formosan_subterranean_termites.jpg