Holometabola
{{short description|Clade of insects}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossil_range|Pennsylvanian|Recent|earliest=354}} Molecular clock indicates a possible Mississippian originWang, Y.-h. et al. Fossil record of stem groups employed in evaluating the chronogram of insects (Arthropoda: Hexapoda). Sci. Rep. 6, 38939; {{doi|10.1038/srep38939}} (2016).
| image = Panorpa communis V.jpg
| image_upright = 0.75
| image_caption = Panorpa communis, a scorpionfly (order Mecoptera)
| taxon = Holometabola
| authority = Burmeister, 1835
| synonyms = Endopterygota Sharp, 1898
| subdivision_ranks = Orders
| subdivision = See text
}}
Holometabola (from Ancient Greek {{wikt-lang|grc|ὅλος|holo-}} "complete" + {{wikt-lang|la|μεταβολή|metabolḗ}} "change"), also known as Endopterygota (from {{wikt-lang|grc|ἔνδον|endo-}} "inner" + {{wikt-lang|grc|πτέρυξ|ptéryg-}} "wing" + Neo-Latin {{wikt-lang|la|-ota}} "-having"), is a supra-ordinal clade of insects within the infraclass Neoptera that go through distinctive larval, pupal, and adult stages. They undergo a radical metamorphosis, with the larval and adult stages differing considerably in their structure and behaviour. This is called holometabolism, or complete metamorphism.
Evolution
The Holometabola constitute the most diverse insect superorder, with over 1 million living species divided between 11 orders, containing insects such as butterflies, flies, fleas, bees, ants, and beetles.{{cite journal |author1=Rolf G. Beutel |author2=Hans Pohl |year=2006 |title=Endopterygote systematics – where do we stand and what is the goal (Hexapoda, Arthropoda)? |journal=Systematic Entomology |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=202–219 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-3113.2006.00341.x|s2cid=83714402 |doi-access=free }}
The earliest holometabolan fossils date from the Carboniferous.{{cite journal |author1=A. Nel |author2=P. Roques |author3=P. Nel |author4=J. Prokop |author5=J. S. Steyer |year=2007 |title=The earliest holometabolous insect from the Carboniferous: a "crucial" innovation with delayed success (Insecta Protomeropina Protomeropidae) |journal=Annales de la Société Entomologique de France |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=349–355|doi=10.1080/00379271.2007.10697531 |s2cid=86235521 }}
The Holometabola are sometimes divided into three assemblages: Neuropterida (Neuroptera, Megaloptera, Raphidioptera, Strepsiptera and Coleoptera), Hymenopteroida (Hymenoptera), and Panorpida (Siphonaptera, Diptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera and Mecoptera).
Molecular analysis has clarified the group's phylogeny, as shown in the cladogram.{{Cite journal |last1=Kjer |first1=Karl M. |last2=Simon |first2=Chris|author2-link=Chris Simon (biologist) |last3=Yavorskaya |first3=Margarita |last4=Beutel |first4=Rolf G. |date=2016 |title=Progress, pitfalls and parallel universes: a history of insect phylogenetics |journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface |volume=13 |issue=121 |page=121 |doi=10.1098/rsif.2016.0363 |pmid=27558853 |name-list-style=amp |pmc=5014063 }}
{{clade
|label1=Holometabola |sublabel1=(Endopterygota)
|1={{clade
|label1=Hymenopterida
|1=Hymenoptera (sawflies, wasps, ants, bees) 70px
|label2=Aparaglossata
|2={{clade
|label1=Neuropteroidea
|1={{clade
|label1=Neuropterida
|1={{clade
|1=Raphidioptera (snakeflies) 70px
|label2=
|2={{clade
|1=Megaloptera (alderflies and allies) 70px
|2=Neuroptera (Lacewings and allies) 70px
}}
}}
|label2=Coleopterida
|2={{clade
|1=Coleoptera (beetles) 50px
|2=Strepsiptera (twisted-wing parasites) 70px
}}
}}
|label2=Panorpida
|2={{clade
|label1=Amphiesmenoptera
|1={{clade
|1=Trichoptera (caddisflies) 70px
|2=Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths) 70px
}}
|label2=Antliophora
|2={{clade
|2={{clade
|1=Mecoptera (scorpionflies) 70px
|2=Siphonaptera (fleas) 40px
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
Description
File:Ontwikkelstadia wespenpoppen.jpg stages in Hymenoptera]]
The Endopterygota are distinguished from the Exopterygota by the way in which their wings develop.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}} Endopterygota (literally "internal winged forms") develop wings inside the body and undergo an elaborate metamorphosis involving a pupal stage. Exopterygota ("external winged forms") develop wings on the outside of their bodies and do not go through a pupal stage. The latter trait is plesiomorphic, however, as it is found also in groups such as Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), which are not Neoptera, but more basal among insects.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
See also
References
{{Commons category|Endopterygota}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Orders of Insects}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q37140800|from2=Q304358}}