The Panorpoid Orders

Abstract

In this and the following chapter we shall deal with the endopterygote insects—those that have a distinct pupal instar in which the insect undergoes a drastic metamorphosis from the larval to the adult form. As noted in Chapter 2, Section 3.2, considerable difficulty has arisen in deciding whether endopterygote orders are monophyletic or polyphyletic. Five orders, Mecoptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Siphonaptera, show clear affinities that enable them to be grouped together as the panorpoid complex. The remaining orders, Megaloptera, Raphidioptera, Neuroptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Strepsiptera, show few affinities with the panorpoid group.