Explanation of Names
From Greek
strepsis (στρεψισ), a turning, plus
pteron (πτερον), wing
(1).
Numbers
Neartica lists 14 North American genera and 92 species, all in the Stylopidae family.
(Borror
(2) page 444) lists three other families: Mengeidae, Elenchidae and Halictophagidae.
Kathirithamby & Taylor (2005) present a key and checklist for:
5 families
11 genera
84 species of Strepsiptera known from USA and Canada
Identification
Adult females are larviform.
Life Cycle
The larvae hatch as free agents from eggs laid on flowers. When a suitable host visits the flower, the first stage larvae attach themselves to it and become parasitic.
(3)Remarks
Arnet Lists 5 families:
Mengeidae, 1 species
Stylopidae, 38 species
Xeninae, 13 species
Halictophagidae, 13 species
Elenchidae, 2 species
[The above are subfamilies in Arnett's 1985 version of American Insects - MQ]
U.S. & Canada taxonomy per Kathirithamby & Taylor (2005):
Corioxenidae
Elenchidae
Halictophagidae
Stylopidae
Myrmecolacidae
Print References
Kathirithamby, J. & S.J. Taylor. 2005. A new species of Halictophagus (Insecta: Strepsiptera: Halictophagidae) from Texas, and a checklist of Strepsiptera from the United States and Canada. Zootaxa 1056: 1-18.
Full PDFInternet References
The
Tree of Life web project has a good overview of this order with some amazing detailed microscopic imagery.
Zootaxa. A checklist of species.
