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Insect Taxonomy

  • The Phylum Anthropoda (external skeletons)
  • 5 Major Groups (classes)
    • Myriapods (e.g., centipedes, millipedges)
    • Trilobites (extinct)
    • Chelicerates (spiders, mites)
    • Crustaceans
    • Insects

Classification:

  • Kingdom = Animalia (it moves)
  • Phylum = Anthropoda (has skeleton on outside; not gonna be huge simply because they need to carry around a heavy exoskeleton)
  • Class = Insecta (3 pairs of legs, 2 pairs of wings)
  • Order:
    • E.g., Coleoptera (Coleo = hardened)(ptera = wings)(= Beetle)
  • Family:
    • E.g., Curculionidae (= Snout beetles) (associated with eating inside plant bits)
  • Subfamily^:
    • E.g., Scolytinae (= Bark beetle)
  • Genus:
    • E.g., Dendroctonus (= means tree killer in Latin)
  • Species:
    • E.g., Dendroctonus ponderosae (= Mountain pine beetle)