Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

1. Coleoptera Beetles:
Leaf bettle, ladybird, rhinoceros beetle, fireflies
Hard forewings
(Elytra) meet in
straight line
down the
abdomen

Membraneous
hindwings folded
underneath the
elytra.

2. Hemiptera/ Bugs and hoppers:

Homoptera water boatman, red bugs, stink/shield bugs, plant bugs, bed bugs, assassin bugs, squash bugs,
seed bugs, lantern bugs, bed bugs, water striders, backswimmers and water scorpions
Posterior thorax
with a triangular
scutellum

3rd part of the

wings are clear.

Water boatman Red bugs

Stink bugs

plant bugs Water strider/ pond skater

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Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

Bed bug Assassin bug

3. Lepidoptera Butterflies, moths, skippers

[Tips: A butterflys antennae are club-shaped with a long shaft and a bulb at the end. A
moths antennae are feathery or saw-edged, skippers normally have fat fury bodies.]

Butterflies

Moths

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Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

Skippers

4. Odonata Dragonflies, damselflies

[Tips: Dragonflies have much larger eyes than damselflies]

5. Hymenoptera Wasps, ants and bees,:

Honeybee Hornet Ant Yellow jacket Wasp

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Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

6. Isoptera Termites

Wing or
wingless

7. Blattodea Cockroach

Zebra stripe cockroach

forest cockroach in Sarawak Orange-spotted cockroach

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Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

8. Orthoptera Grasshoppers, katydids and crickets

[Tips: Grasshoppers and locusts have a row of sharp pegs on the backs of their legs and
Rear legs for produce their sound by rubbing these combs together, slimmer body and shorter
hopping antennae. Katydids and crickets, however, create their sounds by rubbing their wings
together, long antennae (sometimes longer than their body) and a more round or robust body
shape that usually resembles a leaf, even down to the veins in the leaf.

Monkey Grasshopper in Perak

Lef- mimic grasshoppers: Systella rafflesii

Pseudophyllinae katydids

Leaf-rolling cricket in Selangor

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Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

9. Diptera Flies (crane fly , Horse bot fly, horse fly, bee fly, louse fly , gall midge, robber fly ) and
Mosquitoes
2nd pair of wings
modified into
club- shaped
halters

Hairy body
(usually)

crane fly Horse bot fly (No sting, paler band, House fly
larger than bee)

Horse Fly (black/green eyes)

10. Mantodea Praying mantid

11. Phasmida / Stick insects and Leaf mimicking insects

Phasmatodea

Gray leaf insect

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Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

12. Mayflies/ shadflies/ fishflies

Ephemeroptera

Soft bodies with

2 long ceri/ tail
fibers.

Gills Mayflies/ Shadflies

Fishflies

13. Dermaptera Earwigs

Long, flat body
with pincer/
forceps at the
end of abdomen.

Short hard
forewings and
membranous
hind wings
folded
underneath

Slender many-
jointed antennae.
Large jaw/
mandible on
head
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Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

14. Mecoptera Scorpion flies

Last abdominal
segments curved
like scorpion

Two pairs of
narrow wings

Head elongated
into a beak
(rostrum)

Long antenna

15. Trichoptera Caddisflies

[Tips: Moths have scaly wings, feathery/saw-edged antennae. Caddisflies have hairy wings,
(Trichoptera = long and simple antennae.]
Greek 'hairy
wing')

two pairs of
hairy
membranous
wings

moth-like insects

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Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

16. Plecoptera Stoneflies

[Tips: Mayfly has one claw at the end of each leg, Stonefly has two, giving it six pairs of
2 cerci at the tip claws. Mayfly carries its broad and leaf-like gills along both sides of its abdomen but not in
of abdomen Stonefly. Stonefly has 2 oe 3 ocelli but not in mayfly.]

Elongated,
flattened, soft
body

2 pairs of
membranous
wings that are
held curved
around the body
at rest. Some
wingless while
others have Nymph Adult
reduced wings

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Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

Wingless
Insects

17. Thysanura Silverfish

Flat, long bodies
Long antennae

Three, long, tail

like appendages

Damage books

18. Fleas
Siphonaptera [Tips: Ticks are arachnid as they have 4 pairs of appendages]

Bodies laterally
compressed

Enlarged hind
jumping legs

Very short
antenna

19. Louse
Phthiraptera

Usually less than

10mm in length

Short, stubby
antennae

20. Collembora Springtails help in decomposition and nutrient cycling in the soil

wingless soft-
bodied hexapods

1 3mm in
length

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Orders of insects in Malaysia Compiled by WTKhoo

21. Neuroptera Lacewings and antlions

Soft bodied up
to 50mm in
length.

Lace-like wings

Filamentous or
clubbed antennae
Lacewings

Antlions

22. Zoraptera Angel insects

No eyes
Small and soft
bodied

Beaded/monilifo
rm antennae

Found in
decaying wood

23. Embioptera Webspinner

[Tips: It has a pair of enlarged front tarsi which contains silk glands used to create the
4-15mm in body galleries they live in]
length

2 short cerci

Female are
wingless

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