Grylloblattodea

views updated Jun 27 2018

Grylloblattodea (rock crawlers; class Insecta, subclass Pterygota) Small order of exopterygote insects, which are secondarily wingless. They are slender, about 2–3 cm long; and have long, filiform antennae and cerci, and a sword-shaped ovipositor. They live in rock crevices, ice caves, and in rotting logs, and are seldom seen. Their optimal temperature is just above 0°C. They feed on moss, and are also predators and scavengers of other insects that have been immobilized by the cold. Rock crawlers occur in cold, wet, usually high-latitude areas of Japan, Siberia, and N. America. Only six species are known.