| Holometabola | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Panorpa communis, ascorpionfly (order Mecoptera) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Clade: | Eumetabola |
| Clade: | Holometabola Burmeister, 1835 |
| Orders | |
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
EndopterygotaSharp, 1898 | |
Holometabola (fromAncient Greekholo- "complete" +metabolḗ "change"), also known asEndopterygota (fromendo- "inner" +ptéryg- "wing" +Neo-Latin-ota "-having"), is a supra-ordinalclade ofinsects within the infraclassNeoptera that go through distinctivelarval,pupal, and adult stages. They undergo a radicalmetamorphosis, with thelarval and adult stages differing considerably in their structure and behaviour. This is calledholometabolism, or complete metamorphism.
The Holometabola constitute the most diverse insect superorder, with over 1 million living species divided between 11orders, containing insects such asbutterflies,flies,fleas,bees,ants, andbeetles.[2]
The earliest holometabolanfossils date from theCarboniferous.[3]
The Holometabola are sometimes divided into three assemblages:Neuropterida (Neuroptera, Megaloptera, Raphidioptera, Strepsiptera and Coleoptera),Hymenopteroida (Hymenoptera), andPanorpida (Siphonaptera, Diptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera and Mecoptera).
Molecular analysis has clarified the group's phylogeny, as shown in the cladogram.[4]
| Holometabola |
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| (Endopterygota) |
The Endopterygota are distinguished from theExopterygota ("external winged forms") by the way in which their wings develop. Endopterygota ("internal winged forms") develop wings inside the body and undergo an elaborate metamorphosis,holometabolism, involving a pupal stage. The Exopterygota develop wings on the outside of their bodies and do not go through a pupal stage. The Exopterygota are not a natural group (they areparaphyletic).[5]
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