Insect Identification Key: A Guide to the Insects

Insect Identification Key
List of Orders

This key is based on the classification system shown below. You may click on the highlighted names to be directed to the related webpages.

Classification System for This Website:

Kingdom Animalia
   Phylum Arthropoda
      Class Insecta
         Order Blattaria, the cockroaches
         Order Coleoptera, the beetles
                 * Full phylogeny of all Coleoptera families here *
         Order Collembola, the springtails and snowfleas
         Order Dermaptera, the earwigs
         Order Diplura, the two-pronged bristletails
         Order Diptera, the flies
                 * Full phylogeny of all Diptera families here *
         Order Embioptera, the webspinners
         Order Ephemeroptera, the mayflies
         Order Hemiptera, the true bugs
                 * Full phylogeny of all Hemiptera families here *
            Suborder Heteroptera (formerly Hemiptera), the true bugs
            Suborder Auchenorrhyncha (formerly Homoptera), the cicadas, hoppers and spittle bugs
            Suborder Coleorrhyncha (formerly Homoptera), the moss bugs or beetle bugs
            Suborder Sternorrhyncha (formerly Homoptera), the aphids, whiteflies and scale insects
         Order Hymenoptera, including the bees, wasps, hornets and ants
                 * Full phylogeny of all Hymenoptera families here *
         Infraorder Isoptera, the termites
         Order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths
                 * Full phylogeny of all Lepidoptera families here *
         Order Mantodea, the mantises or mantids
         Order Mecoptera, including the scorpionflies and hangingflies
         Order Megaloptera, the alderflies, dobsonflies and fishflies (not mayflies)
         Order Microcoryphia, the jumping bristletails
         Order Neuroptera, the lacewings and antlions
         Order Notoptera, the grylloblattids and the mantophasmids
         Order Odonata, the dragonflies and damselflies
            Suborder Epiprocta, the dragonflies
            Suborder Zygoptera, the damselflies
         Order Orthoptera, the grasshoppers, locusts, crickets and katydids
         Order Phasmida, the walking sticks and stick insects
         Order Plecoptera, the stoneflies
         Order Psocodea, the sucking lice, chewing lice, barklice, booklice, and barkflies
            the sucking lice (formerly Anoplura)
            the chewing lice (formerly Mallophaga)
            the booklice, barklice and barkflies (formerly Psocoptera)
         Order Protura, the telsontails
         Order Raphidioptera, the snakeflies
         Order Siphonaptera, the fleas
         Order Strepsiptera, the twisted-wings
         Order Thysanura (now Zygentoma), the silverfish and firebrats
         Order Thysanoptera, the thrips
         Order Trichoptera, the caddisflies
         Order Zoraptera, the zorapterans and angel insects
         Order Zygentoma (formerly Thysanura), the silverfish and firebrats

Unless noted otherwise, photographs on this website are the property of the photographers and may not be reused without written permission from the photographers. To obtain permission, email the photographers here. High-resolution versions of the photographs are available.

Photos at the top of this website are by: Leslie Mertz, Ph.D., LMERTZ@nasw.org.