Insects of the World: Scientific Classification

By far the largest group of living things in Kingdom Animalia, insects are wildly successful creatures in large part because they evolved flight. There are more species of flying insects now than there are anything else that flies or has every flown, combined, including birds, bats, pterosaurs, and so on.

The briefest version of their taxonomic tree looks like:

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta

• Subclass Apterygota - primitive wingless insects
• Subclass Pterygota - evolution of wings
• Infraclass Neoptera - evolution of wings that can fold flat against their backs
• Superorder Dictyoptera
• Superorder Paraneoptera
• Superorder Endopterygota - a life cycle that includes complete metamorphosis with distinct larval, pupal, and adult stages

A comprehensive overview that includes full-color photos is here.