The Strepsiptera (occasionally known as twisted-winged parasites) are an order of insects with nine families making up about 600 species. They are parasitoids on other insects; their hosts include bees, wasps, leafhoppers, silverfish, and cockroaches.

Male Strepsiptera have wings, legs, eyes, and antennae, and look like flies, though they generally have no useful mouthparts. Females, in all families except the Mengenillidae, never leave their host and are neotenic in form, lacking wings and legs. Males have a very short adult lifetime (usually less than five hours) and do not feed as adults. They search for and mate with a female (whose anterior region extrudes through the host's body). Sperm passes through an opening in the head of the female and from there directly into the body cavity (haemocoel).

Strepsiptera enter their insect hosts as larvae. They undergo hypermetamorphosis and become a less mobile larval form. In this stage they feed within the host's body cavity. The colour and shape of the host's abdomen may be changed and the host usually becomes sterile. The parasites then undergoes holometabolous metamorphosis to become adults. Adult males emerge out of the host body while females stay on inside.

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Strepsiptera: Name ← Older revision Revision as of 11:38, 18 November.. http://bit.ly/3ASGgI http://bit.ly/Zhmgk
iWikipedia (iWikipedia) Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:42:47 -0000
Strepsiptera: Name ← Older revision Revision as of 11:38, 18 November.. http://bit.ly/3ASGgI http://bit.ly/Zhmgk

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