Strepsiptera+the+twisted+wing+parasite

Fig 1. Adult Male Strepsiptera

Fig 2. Strepsiptera larvae on parasatized host

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Strepsiptera

Strepsiptera is a bizarre order of parasitic insect that has a uniquely distinct life cycle and is seen to exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism. The name is derived from the Greek terms //Strepsi=twisted// and //ptera=wing// based on the twisted appearance of the adult males hind wings during flight. They are commonly mistaken as flies (diptera) due to the reduced size of the fore-wings causing them to appear to have halteres. Strepsiptera are quite rare and not widely distributed and are most commonly found in their parasitic form on their host.
 * About:**

Strepsiptera are holometabolic insects that undergo hypermetamorphosis where larvae change body form as they mature. When born, the first instar larvae, known as triunguloids, leave the mothers' body and immediately begin to search for a host in which they may acquire nutrition. Common hosts include bees, wasps, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, and other hemipterans. They will climb to the tops of flowers or other locations where their prospective hosts will most likely come. When a host is within reach, the larvae attach to the hosts abdomen and burrow into the victim. Eyes and legs are lost after burrowing occurs and the strepsiptera become sedentary, living purely off of the hosts' metabolism. As they grow, male strepsiptera will undergo pupation while still connected to their host and develop into the form seen in fig 1. This adult form is short lived is spent looking for a female mate in its entirety. Adult females come in two forms, the more common being the form in which all juvenile characteristics are maintained and they remain parasitically attached to their host. A second, less common form, has also been seen in which the female pupates and develops eyes, legs, and external genitalia, but no wings.
 * Life Cycle:**

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