# source: https://www.thoughtco.com/a-guide-to-the-twenty-nine-insect-orders-1968419

Order Thysanura: The silverfish and firebrats are found in the order Thysanura. They are wingless insects often found in people's attics, and have a lifespan of several years. There are about 600 species worldwide.
Order Diplura: Diplurans are the most primitive insect species, with no eyes or wings. They have the unusual ability among insects to regenerate body parts. There are over 400 members of the order Diplura in the world.
Order Protura: Another very primitive group, the proturans have no eyes, no antennae, and no wings. They are uncommon, with perhaps less than 100 species known.
Order Collembola: The order Collembola includes the springtails, primitive insects without wings. There are approximately 2,000 species of Collembola worldwide.
Order Ephemeroptera: The mayflies of order Ephemeroptera are short-lived, and undergo incomplete metamorphosis. The larvae are aquatic, feeding on algae and other plant life. Entomologists have described about 2,100 species worldwide.
Order Odonata: The order Odonata includes dragonflies and damselflies, which undergo incomplete metamorphosis. They are predators of other insects, even in their immature stage. There are about 5,000 species in the order Odonata.
Order Plecoptera: The stoneflies of order Plecoptera are aquatic and undergo incomplete metamorphosis. The nymphs live under rocks in well flowing streams. Adults are usually seen on the ground along stream and river banks. There are roughly 3,000 species in this group.
Order Grylloblatodea: Sometimes referred to as "living fossils," the insects of the order Grylloblatodea have changed little from their ancient ancestors. This order is the smallest of all the insect orders, with perhaps only 25 known species living today. Grylloblatodea live at elevations above 1500 ft., and are commonly named ice bugs or rock crawlers.
Order Orthoptera: These are familiar insects (grasshoppers, locusts, katydids, and crickets) and one of the largest orders of herbivorous insects. Many species in the order Orthoptera can produce and detect sounds. Approximately 20,000 species exist in this group.
Order Phasmida: The order Phasmida are masters of camouflage, the stick and leaf insects. They undergo incomplete metamorphosis and feed on leaves. There are some 3,000 insects in this group, but only a small fraction of this number is leaf insects. Stick insects are the longest insects in the world.
Order Dermaptera: This order contains the earwigs, an easily recognized insect that often has pincers at the end of the abdomen. Many earwigs are scavengers, eating both plant and animal matter. The order Dermaptera includes less than 2,000 species.
Order Embiidina: The order Embioptera is another ancient order with few species, perhaps only 200 worldwide. The web spinners have silk glands in their front legs and weave nests under leaf litter and in tunnels where they live. Webspinners live in tropical or subtropical climates.
Order Dictyoptera: The order Dictyoptera includes roaches and mantids. Both groups have long, segmented antennae and leathery forewings held tightly against their backs. They undergo incomplete metamorphosis. Worldwide, there approximately 6,000 species in this order, most living in tropical regions.
Order Isoptera: Termites feed on wood and are important decomposers in forest ecosystems. They also feed on wood products and are thought of as pests for the destruction they cause to man-made structures. There are between 2,000 and 3,000 species in this order.
Order Zoraptera: Little is know about the angel insects, which belong to the order Zoraptera. Though they are grouped with winged insects, many are actually wingless. Members of this group are blind, small, and often found in decaying wood. There are only about 30 described species worldwide.
Order Psocoptera: Bark lice forage on algae, lichen, and fungus in moist, dark places. Booklice frequent human dwellings, where they feed on book paste and grains. They undergo incomplete metamorphosis. Entomologists have named about 3,200 species in the order Psocoptera.
Order Mallophaga: Biting lice are ectoparasites that feed on birds and some mammals. There are an estimated 3,000 species in the order Mallophaga, all of which undergo incomplete metamorphosis.
Order Siphunculata: The order Siphunculata are the sucking lice, which feed on the fresh blood of mammals. Their mouthparts are adapted for sucking or siphoning blood. There are only about 500 species of sucking lice.
Order Hemiptera: Most people use the term "bugs" to mean insects; an entomologist uses the term to refer to the order Hemiptera. The Hemiptera are the true bugs, and include cicadas, aphids, and spittlebugs, and others. This is a large group of over 70,000 species worldwide.
Order Thysanoptera: The thrips of order Thysanoptera are small insects that feed on plant tissue. Many are considered agricultural pests for this reason. Some thrips prey on other small insects as well. This order contains about 5,000 species.
Order Neuroptera: Commonly called the order of lacewings, this group actually includes a variety of other insects, too: dobsonflies, owlflies, mantidflies, antlions, snakeflies, and alderflies. Insects in the order Neuroptera undergo complete metamorphosis. Worldwide, there are over 5,500 species in this group.
Order Mecoptera: This order includes the scorpionflies, which live in moist, wooded habitats. Scorpionflies are omnivorous in both their larval and adult forms. The larva are caterpillar-like. There are less than 500 described species in the order Mecoptera.
Order Siphonaptera: Pet lovers fear insects in the order Siphonaptera - the fleas. Fleas are blood-sucking ectoparasites that feed on mammals, and rarely, birds. There are well over 2,000 species of fleas in the world.
Order Coleoptera: This group, the beetles and weevils, is the largest order in the insect world, with over 300,000 distinct species known. The order Coleoptera includes well-known families: june beetles, lady beetles, click beetles, and fireflies. All have hardened forewings that fold over the abdomen to protect the delicate hindwings used for flight.
Order Strepsiptera: Insects in this group are parasites of other insects, particularly bees, grasshoppers, and the true bugs. The immature Strepsiptera lies in wait on a flower and quickly burrows into any host insect that comes along. Strepsiptera undergo complete metamorphosis and pupate within the host insect's body.
Order Diptera: Diptera is one of the largest orders, with nearly 100,000 insects named to the order. These are the true flies, mosquitoes, and gnats. Insects in this group have modified hindwings which are used for balance during flight. The forewings function as the propellers for flying.
Order Lepidoptera: The butterflies and moths of the order Lepidoptera comprise the second largest group in the class Insecta. These well-known insects have scaly wings with interesting colors and patterns. You can often identify an insect in this order just by the wing shape and color.
Order Trichoptera: Caddisflies are nocturnal as adults and aquatic when immature. The caddisfly adults have silky hairs on their wings and body, which is key to identifying a Trichoptera member. The larvae spin traps for prey with silk. They also make cases from the silk and other materials that they carry and use for protection.
Order Hymenoptera: The order Hymenoptera includes many of the most common insects - ants, bees, and wasps. The larvae of some wasps cause trees to form galls, which then provides food for the immature wasps. Other wasps are parasitic, living in caterpillars, beetles, or even aphids. This is the third-largest insect order with just over 100,000 species.
