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INSECT DIAGNOSTICS +
BIODIVERSITY CAPACITY BUILDING

Papua New Guinea

Insect Orders of Papua New Guinea:

Order Archaeognatha
Order Blattodea
- Superfamily Termitoidea
Order Coleoptera
Order Dermaptera
Order Diptera
Order Embioptera
Order Ephemeroptera
Order Hemiptera
Order Hymenoptera
Order Lepidoptera
Order Mantodea
Order Neuroptera
Order Odonata
Order Orthoptera
Order Phasmatodea
Order Plecoptera
Order Psocodea
- Suborder Psocoptera
- Suborder Phthiraptera
Order Siphonaptera
Order Strepsiptera
Order Thysanoptera
Order Trichoptera
Order Zoraptera
Order Zygentoma

To identify insects you can either use written identification keys, diagnoses and descriptions or compare material with accurately identified specimens. The use of identification keys requires knowledge about how keys work and morphological terminology. Keys contain what are fundamentally diagnostic characters, i.e., those characters that define a taxon in comparison to other taxa. When differentiating taxa there is often a single character that is unique to it but this is not always the case, and a user may have to examine a combination of characters.

Format of diagnostic descriptions and information
The following section gives key information about the insect orders of Papua New Guinea. This information is structured in the following format:

Scientific name is a formal scientific name for an insect that includes synonyms (= a different scientific name for the same insect). In this section we refer mostly to the scientific name of orders, which each have a unique name. For example, the Archaeognatha is the ordinal name for those insects which are commonly called bristletails. There are rules (for animals the rules are given in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature) that need to be followed in the formation of scientific names. If there are multiple scientific names for the same organism, they are synonymised and in nearly all cases the oldest name is the one that is used.
Common name is a non-scientific name that is given for a species of a group of species. For example, bristletails are the common name for the order Archaeognatha. Common names do not follow an agreed set of rules in their formation, but there is usually a consensus about what common name one should use, and for some groups of organisms there are agreed lists of common names. For many organisms there are multiple common names, and in such cases they are not synonymised, and can be used interchangeably. This can lead to confusion in communicating about organisms but common names are popular because they do not require scientific expertise to be able to communicate about organisms.
Simple diagnosis is a set of characteristics that define an organism, which could be a species or a higher taxon, like a family or order. In this manual we have introduced a simple diagnosis for each order, where we have minimised the use of technical terms. The simple diagnosis will assist the nonspecialist in quickly identifying insects to orders. In some circumstances the simple diagnosis may not be detailed enough to correctly identify an insect to order. During your training you will become more familiar with the technical terms used to identify insects and you should be able to use a technical diagnosis to complement the simple diagnosis.
Technical diagnosis is more detailed and uses scientific terminology for the morphology that is diagnostic for an insect order. These scientific terms are explained in brackets after the term and in the glossary.
The section, 'What can they be confused with?' is sometimes referred to as a differential diagnosis. When you are identifying insects to order you may be confused in the morphological characters used to diagnose them. This can lead to a misidentification. To avoid getting the wrong answer we have provided a comparison in morphology between insects that have a similar appearance. For this section we use more technical terms but have included definitions for them in brackets, which is also supplemented with illustrations and definitions in the glossary.
Biology. A summary of important life history features is given for each insect order, including feeding behaviour and preferences, microhabitats, life cycle and development.
Diversity in Papua New Guinea. A synopsis of the diversity of the target insect order is given.
Key references. References are provided on the taxonomy and biology of each insect order.

General references

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). 1991. The Insects of Australia. Volumes 1 and 2. Melbourne University Press.
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). 2012. Australian Insect Families, accessed 7 April 2016, http://anic.ento.csiro.au/insectfamilies.
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). 2016. Insects and their Allies accessed 7 April 2014 http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/index.html.
International Code for Zoological Nomenclature http://iczn.org/code Miller, S. 2007. Insects of Papua. In: Marshall, A.J. and Beehler, B.M. (eds), The Ecology of Papua, pp 515-531.