Polyneoptera

Definition

A cohort (or superorder) of neopteran insects comprising the Orthoptera and all other orders more closely related to Orthoptera than to any other major neopteran lineage. Polyneoptera is characterized by incomplete metamorphosis (hemimetaboly) without a pupal stage, with wings developing externally through successive nymphal instars; many members possess leathery forewings (tegmina) and hindwings with an enlarged anal fan (vannus). The group includes approximately ten extant orders: Blattodea (cockroaches and termites), Dermaptera (earwigs), Embioptera (webspinners), Grylloblattodea (ice crawlers), Mantodea (mantids), Mantophasmatodea (heelwalkers), Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids), Phasmida (stick and leaf insects), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Zoraptera (angel insects).

Etymology

From Greek polys (many) + Neoptera, referring to the diverse array of orders within this neopteran cohort.

Example

The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), a member of Polyneoptera in the order Orthoptera, exemplifies the group's typical wing development: wing buds appear externally in early nymphal instars and gradually expand through successive molts until the fully winged adult emerges without a pupal stage.

Synonyms

• Polyneopteran cohort

Related Terms

• Neoptera
• Paraneoptera
• Holometabola
• hemimetaboly
• tegmen
• vannus
• Orthoptera
• Blattodea
• Plecoptera
• Palaeoptera

Usage Notes

The rank of Polyneoptera varies across classifications: treated as a cohort within some systems, as a superorder in others. It is distinguished from Paraneoptera (true bugs, lice, thrips, and allies) by morphological and molecular evidence, though exact relationships among basal polyneopteran orders remain actively studied. The group was formerly included within Hemimetabola or Exopterygota, terms now discouraged because they grouped unrelated lineages by convergent life-history traits.