63 Introduction

Introduction

The mecopteroid orders are the second last group we will cover, as always with an emphasis on those taxa found in northern BC. The group includes a some large and ecologically important orders, so we will split the mecopteroid orders over two separate labs. Your goal is to learn how to identify various common insects to order and/or family level using the keys in your text, online resources, other students, and me (when in doubt, ask an entomologist). The lab should take you approximately three hours to complete. A short quiz will be available when you have finished the lab, so that you can practice your identification skills.

The mecopteroids include five orders of insects:

• Trichoptera, the caddisflies;
• Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths;
• Siphonaptera, the fleas;
• Mecoptera, the scorpionflies;
• and Diptera, the true flies.

We will look at the first two orders in this lab, and the last three orders in the next lab. If your collection includes orders or families not covered in the lab, they still need to be identified to family. If you need help with that, please let me know!