Insect Order Zoraptera
The Zoraptera are a very small order of insects, there are about 30 known species. They are also small in size being less than 3 mm long. They are hemimetabolous, have biting mouthparts, very short, 1 segmented cerci, and 9 segmented antennae. They are generally found under bark or in humus and leaf-litter. They are unsusual in that each species comes in 2 different forms, one of which is 'alate' (has wings) and the other is 'apterous', i.e. dosen't have wings. The apterous form is the more common, generally white in colour and has no compound eyes or ocelli, whereas the alate forms have both compound eyes and ocelli, and are more pigmented. Though less than 3 mm long an alate Zorapteran can have a total wingspan of about 7mm. Another interesting thing is that like their relatives the Termites (Isoptera) they can voluntarily shed their wings. Though little is known about the biology of Zorapterans it is known that 2 forms of nymphs occurr that equate with the 2 different life-forms. They are usually found in rotting timber and or sawdust, well composted leaf-litter and Termites nests. They feed on fungal spores and smaller arthropods. The name Zoraptera comes from the Greek words "zor" meaning pure and "aptera" meaning wingless (they were named before the winged forms were discovered.