![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Panorpa_communis_V.jpg/640px-Panorpa_communis_V.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Endopterygota
clade of insects / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Endopterygota (or Holometabola), are insects of the subclass Pterygota.
Quick Facts Endopterygota Temporal range: Pennsylvanian – Recent, Scientific classification ...
Endopterygota Temporal range: Pennsylvanian – Recent | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Panorpa communis, a scorpionfly (order Mecoptera) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Class: | |
Infraclass: | |
Superorder: | Endopterygota Sharp, 1898 |
Orders | |
Close
They have complete metamorphosis. This means they go through different larval, pupal, and adult stages. The larval and adult stages differ very much in their anatomy and behavior. This is called holometabolism, or complete metamorphism.
They are distinguished from the Exopterygota (or Hemipterodea) by the way in which their wings develop. Endopterygota ("internal winged forms") develop wings inside the body during metamorphosis.[1]
The earliest endopterygote fossils date from the Carboniferous.[2]