CHAPTER VI 



ORDER ZORAPTERA 



So little is known of this order which was established in 1913, that it 

 is impossible at this time to define with any certainty, the characters of 

 the group. But a single genus, Zorotypus, is known, and at this time, 

 only about half a dozen species have been discovered. These have been 

 found as follows: one each in Africa, Ceylon, Java, and Costa Rica and 

 two in Florida. One of the species from Florida has also been found in 

 Texas. In addition, a colony of one species has been discovered in north- 

 ern Virginia. 



The known species are all minute, the largest measuring only -fa 

 of an inch in length. The Florida species contain both winged and wing- 

 less forms, the former being females although there are also wingless 

 females. 



Fig. 105. — Zorotypus hubbardi; /, winged adult female; 5, antenna of a wing- 

 less individual. (From An Introduction to Entomology.) 



The wingless adults resemble small termites. They have strong man- 

 dibles but are blind. The legs arc fitted for running and the antennas are 

 nine-segmented. The winged females have compound eyes and two pairs 

 of wings (Fig. 105). 



These insects are social and live in colonies of various sizes under the 

 bark of logs and stumps and frequently near the galleries of termites. It 

 was thought, at first, that they might live as inquilines in the nests of 

 termites; but recent observations do not support this view. 



* Zoraptera: zoros (£vp6s), pure; apterous (din-epos), without wings. 



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