Knowra Zoraptera Zoraptera Zoraptera is a small order of minute insects, commonly called angel insects, found mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Individuals may be wingless or winged.
Insect : An arthropod with a body divided into head, thorax, and abdomen, three pairs of legs, and usually one or two pairs of wings. Zorapterans share the defining body plan of insects.
Wing polymorphism : The occurrence of distinct wing forms within a species or population. Some zorapterans develop functional wings, while others are wingless.
Bark beetle : A small beetle that feeds or breeds beneath the bark of trees. Zorapterans are often collected from bark and galleries associated with bark beetles.
Earliest Cretaceous : The opening interval of the Cretaceous Period, beginning about 145 million years ago. Fossil zorapterans show that the order existed by the Cretaceous.
Psocodea : An insect order comprising barklice, booklice, and parasitic lice. Small zorapterans were once grouped near barklice, but modern classifications separate them.
Arthropod : An invertebrate animal with a segmented body, jointed appendages, and a chitinous exoskeleton. Zoraptera belongs to this broader animal phylum.
Insect metamorphosis : The developmental process through which an insect changes form as it grows from immature stages to adulthood. Zorapterans develop through nymphal stages rather than complete metamorphosis.
Deadwood : Dead branches, trunks, and other woody material that remains in forests or other habitats. Decaying wood is a common refuge and collection site for zorapterans.
Burmese amber : Cretaceous amber from Myanmar that preserves diverse organisms in three dimensions. Amber inclusions document ancient zorapterans with exceptionally preserved anatomy.
Termite : A wood-feeding social insect in the order Blattodea. Both may occur in wood, but zorapterans do not build termite colonies or share termite social organization.
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