Evolution of the Insects

Section 1. Diversity and Evolution: Introduction; Species: their nature and number; How many species of insects?; Reconstructing evolutionary history; Section 2. Fossil Insects: Insect fossilization; Dating and ages; Major fossil Insect deposits; Section 3. Arthropods and the Origin of Insects: Onychophora: the velvet-worms; Tardigrada: the water-bears; Arthropoda: the jointed animals; Hexapoda: the six-legged arthropods; Section 4. The insects: Morphology of insects; Relationships among the insect orders; Section 5. Earliest insects: Archaeognatha: the bristletails; Zygentoma: the silverfish; †Rhyniognatha; Section 6. Insects Take to the Skies: Pterygota, Wings, and flight; Ephemeroptera: the mayflies; †Palaeodictyopterida: extinct beaked insects; Odonatoptera: dragonflies and early relatives; Neoptera; Section 7. The Polyneopterous Orders: Plecopterida; Orthopterida; Plecoptera: the stoneflies; Embiodea: the webspinners; Zoraptera: the Zorapterans; Orthoptera: the grasshoppers, crickets, and kin; Phasmatodea: the stick- and leaf insects; †Titanoptera: the titanic crawlers; †Caloneurodea: the Caloneurodeans; Dermaptera: the earwigs; Grylloblattodea: the ice crawlers; Mantophasmatodea: the African rock crawlers; Dictyoptera; Blattodea: the roaches; Citizen roach: the termites; Mantodea: the mantises; Section 8. The Paraneopteran Orders: Psocoptera: the 'bark'lice; Phthiraptera: the true lice; Fringe wings: Thysanoptera (thrips); The sucking bugs: Hemiptera; Section 9. The Holometabola: problematic fossil orders; The origins of complete metamorphosis; On wings of lace: Neuropterida; Section 10. Coleoptera: early fossils and overview of past diversity; Archostemata; Adephaga; Myxophaga; Polyphaga; Strepsiptera: the enigmatic order; Section 11. Hymenoptera: Ants, Bees, and Other Wasps: The Euhymenoptera and parasitism; Aculeata; Evolution of insect sociality; Section 12. Antliophora: Scorpionflies, Flies, and Fleas: Mecopterida: mecopterans and relatives; Siphonaptera: the fleas; Evolution of ectoparasites and blood-feeders; Diptera: the true flies; Section 13. Amphiesmenoptera: The Caddisflies and Lepidoptera: Trichoptera: the caddisflies; Lepidoptera: the moths and butterflies; Section 14. Insects Become Modern: Cretaceous and Tertiary Periods: The Cretaceous; flowering of the world: the Angiosperm Radiations; Plant sex and insects: insect pollination; Radiations of Phytophagous insects; Austral arthropods: remnants of Gondwana?; Insects, mass extinctions, and the K/T boundary; The tertiary; Mammalian radiations; Pleistocene dispersal and species lifespans; Island faunas; Section 15. Epilogue: Why so many insect species?; The future; Glossary; References; Index.