69 articles
Lachesillidae
Lachesillidae is a family of bark lice in the order Psocodea, with more than 420 species in 26 genera, the largest being Lachesilla with 349.
Leptoceridae
Leptoceridae, the long-horned caddisflies (Trichoptera), a large cosmopolitan caddisfly family with very long antennae, about 1,800-1,970 species; four subfamilies after Malm & Johanson's 2011 molecular revision.
Leptophlebiidae
Leptophlebiidae, the prong-gilled mayflies, is a cosmopolitan Ephemeroptera family with about 140 genera and 640 species, forked nymphal gills lacking costal and anal ribs, and a contested internal classification now divided into eight subfamilies.
Leuctridae
Leuctridae, the rolled-winged or needle stoneflies, is a Holarctic family of Plecoptera with 18 genera and about 400 species; wings roll around the body at rest, larvae are stream detritivores and clean-water bioindicators.
Limnephilidae
Limnephilidae (northern casemaker caddisflies, Kolenati 1848) is the largest Plenitentoria caddisfly family, about 900 species; larvae build portable cases of sand and plant material in northern freshwaters.
Lonchodidae
Lonchodidae (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893) is the largest stick insect family (Phasmatodea), combining Lonchodinae and Necrosciinae; over 1,000 species, long antennae, no area apicalis, Indomalayan-Australasian distribution, monophyly debated.
Louse
Louse (plural lice), order Phthiraptera: wingless parasitic insects of birds and mammals, over 5000 species in four suborders including sucking Anoplura and chewing Mallophaga; body lice vector typhus, relapsing fever, and trench fever.
Machilidae
Machilidae, jumping bristletails, is a family of primitively wingless Archaeognatha insects with about 458 species in three subfamilies, mostly Northern Hemisphere, known for thread-based sperm transfer, jumping, and disputed paraphyly.
Mantispidae
Mantispidae (mantidflies, mantisflies), family Leach 1815 of Neuroptera with 395 extant species; adults have raptorial forelegs convergent with mantises, and Mantispinae larvae prey on spider eggs inside egg sacs.
Mayfly
Mayfly (order Ephemeroptera): aquatic insect with a unique two-stage winged adult life (subimago then imago), non-feeding adults living hours to days, ~3,100 species, Paleoptera sister group of all other winged insects, and widely used water-quality bioindicators.
Mecoptera
Mecoptera, scorpionflies and hangingflies, a small holometabolous insect order of about 550-800 species in nine families, defined by a rostrum and similar fore and hind wings; fleas nest within it, making the order paraphyletic.
Megaloptera
Megaloptera (alderflies, dobsonflies, fishflies) is an insect order of two families, Sialidae and Corydalidae, with about 400 extant species, terrestrial adults, and aquatic predatory larvae used as water-quality indicators; sister order to Neuroptera.
Menoponidae
Menoponidae (Mjöberg, 1910), avian body lice, is the largest family of chewing lice in the suborder Amblycera, with about 68 genera and 1,039 species parasitizing birds, including poultry pests Menopon gallinae and Menacanthus stramineus.
Myrmeleontidae
Myrmeleontidae (antlions), the largest lacewing family (Neuroptera), about 1,700 species of arid regions; larvae are sit-and-wait predators, many building conical sand pitfall traps maintained by sand throwing.
Nemouridae
Nemouridae, spring stoneflies or forestflies (forestfly stonefly), a Holarctic family of small Plecoptera with about 800 species in 24 genera; detritivore nymphs in leaf packs, spring adult emergence, subfamilies Amphinemurinae and Nemourinae.
Neuroptera
Neuroptera, the lacewings, antlions, owlflies, and mantisflies, is an insect order in the superorder Neuropterida with about 6,000 species, net-veined membranous wings, and predatory sickle-jawed larvae used in aphid biological control.
Panorpidae
Panorpidae, the common scorpionflies, is the largest family of Mecoptera, about 500 species in Eurasia and North America, named for the male's scorpion-like genitalia.
Perlidae
Perlidae, the common or summer stoneflies (Latreille, 1802; type genus Perla), is the most speciose stonefly family, with about 1,397 predatory, stream-dwelling species worldwide except Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica.
Phasmatidae
Phasmatidae (walking sticks), Gray 1835, is a family of stick insects in the order Phasmatodea, with about 160 genera and 991 species under one concept; its subfamilies and authorship remain taxonomically disputed.
Philopotamidae
Philopotamidae, finger-net caddisflies (family Stephens 1829, Trichoptera, Annulipalpia, Philopotamoidea), a cosmopolitan caddisfly family of roughly 1168 to over 1500 species; larvae have a T-shaped membranous labrum and spin capture nets without cases.
Philopteridae
Philopteridae (feather lice), family of chewing lice in Ischnocera, Nitzsch 1818, type genus Philopterus; over 3,000 species in 212 genera, permanent ectoparasites of birds, diversifying about 49 million years ago.
Phlaeothripidae
Phlaeothripidae, the tube-tailed thrips, is the sole living family of the thrips suborder Tubulifera, with about 3,550 to 3,800 species in 460 genera, tubular tenth abdominal segment, and two subfamilies, spore-feeding Idolothripinae and larger Phlaeothripinae.
Plecoptera
Plecoptera is an order of insects known as stoneflies, with over 4,000 species on every continent except Antarctica; its aquatic nymphs need cool, oxygen-rich streams and signal high water quality.
Polycentropodidae
Polycentropodidae (Ulmer, 1903) is a family of annulipalpian caddisflies whose larvae spin silk snare nets at retreat openings; over 930 species in 23 genera, sister family Ecnomidae, type genus Polycentropus.
Pseudocaeciliidae
Pseudocaeciliidae, false lizard barklice, is a family of bark lice (Psocodea: Psocomorpha) established by Pearman in 1936, with type genus Pseudocaecilius; about 300 species in 23 genera, mostly Asian, likely not monophyletic, and treated by some authors under the older name Calopsocidae.
Psocidae
Psocidae, the common barklice, is the largest family of free-living barklice (Psocodea: Psocomorpha: Psocetae), with over 1,000 species in about 80 genera, mostly tropical, classified in three subfamilies and ten tribes.
Psocodea
Psocodea is an insect order uniting bark lice, book lice, and parasitic lice (former orders Psocoptera and Phthiraptera, now synonyms), with over 11,000 species, seven suborders, and a single origin of parasitism predating the K-Pg boundary.
Psychomyiidae
Psychomyiidae (trumpet-net, tube-making caddisflies) is a family of Trichoptera established by Walker in 1852, type genus Psychomyia; 648 species in eight genera, centered in the Oriental region, larvae building silken tube retreats.
Pulicidae
Pulicidae, the common fleas (Billberg, 1820), is a cosmopolitan flea family (Siphonaptera) containing the human, cat, dog, hen, and Oriental rat fleas, key vectors of plague and murine typhus.
Raphidioptera
Raphidioptera (snakeflies) is the smallest order of Neuropterida insects, about 260 species in Raphidiidae and Inocelliidae, defined by an elongate prothorax, long ovipositor, predatory larvae under bark, and a Northern Hemisphere, largely Mesozoic fossil history.