| The Embioptera are a small group of soft bodied relatively small,
gregarious insects, they can be found in most tropical, and warm
temperate climates, there are about 300 species world wide. They are
hemimetabolous (having a simple or very little metamorphosis i.e. no
pupa) the males usually have two pairs of nearly equal wings (though in
the Australembiide the males are apterous (wingless) while the females
are apterous in all species. Their antennae are filiform (thin and
linear) with 15 to 32 segments, their mouthparts designed for biting and
their compound eyes are either oval or reniform (kidney shaped) and
smaller in the females than the males. They have no ocelli, their cerci
are 2 segmented and the males have assymetrical external genitalia. |