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List of minor insects of Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated close to the southern tip of India. The invertebrate fauna is as large as it is common to other regions of the world. There are about 2 million and counting species of arthropods found in the world. Due to this, it is very difficult to summarize the exact number of species found within a certain region.

The following list is about some minor insect orders recorded in Sri Lanka.

Jumping bristletails

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Archaeognatha

Archaeognatha, are an insect order of the subclass Apterygota, which means they are insects without wings at any stage of the lifecycle. In the evolution of insects, Archaeognatha are the most primitive insects currently exists in the world. They have elongated bodies and arched backs. They have three long caudal filaments, where two lateral filaments are known as cerci, and the medial one is an epiproct. 350 species of Jumping bristletails belong to two families have been identified. Two species are known from Sri Lanka.[1]

Family: Machilidae

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Silverfish

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Zygentoma

Zygentoma is an insect order of the subclass Apterygota. The order includes silverfish, fishmoths, and the firebrats. All Zygentoma species have three long caudal filaments, where two lateral filaments are known as cerci, and the medial one is an epiproct or appendix dorsalis. There are five families in the order. 3 species are known from Sri Lanka.[2][3]

Family: Ateluridae

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Family: Lepismatidae

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Webspinners

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Embioptera

The order Embioptera, commonly known as webspinners, are a small group of mostly tropical and subtropical insects, classified under the subclass Pterygota. The order has also been referred to as Embiodea or Embiidina.[4] The name Embioptera ("lively wings") comes from Greek, εμβιος, embios meaning "lively" and πτερον, pteron meaning "wing", a name that has not been considered to be particularly descriptive for this group of fliers,[5] perhaps instead referring to their remarkable speed of movement both forward and backward.[6]

Over 360 embiopteran species have been described,[5][7] along with estimates of around 2000 species being in existence today.[8] There is some debate as to the exact phylogenetic classification of Embioptera, with the order having been classed as a sister group to both orders Zoraptera,[5][9] and Phasmatodea,[10]

The following list provide the lacewings currently identified in Sri Lanka. Only four species found from this order within the country.[11][12][13][14][15]

Endemic species are denoted as E.

Family: Oligotomidae

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Booklice

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Psocoptera

Psocoptera are an order of insects that are commonly known as booklice, barklice or barkflies.[20] They first appeared in the Permian period, 295–248 million years ago. They are often regarded as the most primitive of the hemipteroids.[21] Their name originates from the Greek word ψῶχος, psokos meaning gnawed or rubbed and πτερά, ptera meaning wings.[22] There are more than 5,500 species in 41 families in three suborders. Many of these species have only been described in recent years.[23]

The Order Psocoptera is divided into three suborders. According to checklists by Smithers in 1967 and New in 1977, there are 67 accepted species of booklice found from Sri Lanka.[11] The checklist of New was advanced with the full description of two subfamilies Epipsocidae and Pseudocaeciliidae, from Sri Lanka.[12][24][25]

Family: Amphientomidae - tropical barklice

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Family: Amphipsocidae - hairy-winged barklice

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Family: Archipsocidae - ancient barklice

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Family: Caeciliusidae - lizard barklice

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Family: Calopsocidae - common barklice

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Family: Ectopsocidae - outer barklice

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Family: Elipsocidae - damp barklice

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Family: Epipsocidae - elliptical barklice

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Family: Hemipsocidae - leaf litter barklice

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Family: Lepidopsocidae - scaly-winged barklice

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Family: Liposcelididae - booklice

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Family: Myopsocidae - mouse-like barklice

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Family: Peripsocidae - stout barklice

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Family: Philotarsidae - loving barklice

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Family: Pseudocaeciliidae - false lizard barklice

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Family: Psocidae - common barklice

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Family: Stenopsocidae - narrow barklice

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Thrips

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Thysanoptera

Thrips (order Thysanoptera) are minute, slender insects with fringed wings (thus the scientific name. Other common names for thrips include thunderflies, thunderbugs, storm flies, thunderblights, storm bugs, corn flies and corn lice. Thrips species feed on a large variety of plants and animals by puncturing them and sucking up the contents. A large number of thrips species are considered pests, because they feed on plants with commercial value. Some species of thrips feed on other insects or mites and are considered beneficial, while some feed on fungal spores or pollen. Approximately 6,000 species have been described. Thrips are generally tiny (1 mm long or less) and are not good flyers [citation needed], although they can be carried long distances by the wind. In the right conditions, like indoor grow rooms or greenhouses, many species can exponentially increase in population size and form large swarms because of a lack of natural predators, making them an irritation to humans.

The first comprehensive detailed work on Sri Lankan thrip fauna came through Schmutz in 1913. His checklist stood for more than 70 years with 43 new species.[11] In 1997, Oda et al. rediscovered and updated the thrip diversity, but with small collections from Sri Lanka.[12] The most recent work was done by Wijerathna, and he listed 16 species of thrips from 28 crops across the island. Currently, thrips documented within Sri Lanka included to 3 families - Aeolothripidae, Thripidae, and Phlaeothripidae, with 46 genera and 78 species.[26][27]

Family: Aeolothripidae - predatory thrips

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Family: Thripidae - common thrips

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Family: Phlaeothripidae - tube-tailed thrips

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Fleas

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Siphonaptera

Fleas are insects that form the order Siphonaptera. They are wingless, with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. Fleas are external parasites, living by hematophagy off the blood of mammals and birds. Over 2,000 species have been described worldwide.[28]

The following list provide the fleas found in Sri Lanka.[12] The first checklist of fleas in Sri Lanka was done by Iyengar in 1973.[11] 20 species are recognized, more taxonomic study is required.[29] The fleas studies were almost confined to parasitic sections, where W. W. A. Phillips documented 11 species of fleas in 1980.

Family: Ceratophyllidae

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Family: Ischnopsyllidae - bat fleas

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Family: Pulicidae - cat fleas

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Family: Stivaliidae

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Caddisflies

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Trichoptera

The caddisflies are an order, Trichoptera, of insects with approximately 7,000 described species.[30] Also called sedge-flies or rail-flies, they are small moth-like insects having two pairs of hairy membranous wings. They are closely related to Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) which have scales on their wings, and the two orders together form the superorder Amphiesmenoptera. Caddisflies have aquatic larvae and are found in a wide variety of habitats such as streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, spring seeps, and temporary waters (vernal pools).[31] The larvae of many species use silk to make protective cases of gravel, sand, twigs or other debris.

The caddisfly diversity in Sri Lanka is fairly studied from British times to present day. However, the first comprehensive work was done by Schmid in 1958.[32] Then in 1973, Malicky updated the checklist.[12] Currently 188 number of caddisfly species belongs to 18 families are identified from Sri Lanka.[11][33][34][35][36]

Family: Anomalopsychidae

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Family: Calamoceratidae

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Family: Dipseudopsidae

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Family: Ecnomidae

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Family: Goeridae

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Family: Glossosomatidae - little black caddisflies

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Family: Helicopsychidae - snail-case caddisflies

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Family: Hydrobiosidae

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Family: Hydropsychidae - net-spinning caddisflies

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Family: Hydroptilidae - micro caddisflies

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Family: Lepidostomatidae - bizarre caddisflies

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Family: Leptoceridae - long-horned caddisflies

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Family: Limnephilidae - northern caddisflies

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Family: Odontoceridae - mortarjoint casemakers

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Family: Philopotamidae - fingernet caddisflies

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Family: Polycentropodidae - tube-maker caddisflies

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Family: Psychomyiidae - net-tube caddisflies

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Family: Xiphocentronidae

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Twisted-winged parasites

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Strepsiptera

Order Strepsiptera, commonly called, twisted-wing parasites, are an endopterygote order of insects. The order consists with nine extant families with about 600 species. Adults in most of their lives are spent as endoparasites in other insects, such as bees, wasps, leafhoppers, silverfish, and cockroaches.[37] Males have well-developed pair of hind-wings and reduced fore-wings. Females wingless and usually do not leave their hosts.[11]

The first scientific observation and detailed work on strepsipterans of Sri Lanka was done by Kathirithamby in 1994.[38][39] In 1997, Kifune discovered 20 strepsipterans from Sri Lanka, with 7 new species. All these new species genera are endemic to the country.[40][12][41][42]

Family: Corioxenidae

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Family: Elenchidae

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Family: Halictophagidae

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Family: Mengenillidae

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Family: Myrmecolacidae

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Family: Stylopidae

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Lice

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Phthiraptera

Phthiraptera, is an insect order, which comprise more than 5,000 species of wingless insects. All lice are obligate parasites which live externally on warm-blooded mammals and birds. The three cosmopolitan species of lice live within the humans, on head, body and pubic region. They are divided into two groups, sucking lice and chewing lice. The exact number of lice in Sri Lanka is not known. Only some species have been documented.[43]

Family: Haematomyzidae

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Family: Hoplopleuridae

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Family: Menoponidae

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Family: Pediculidae

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Family: Pthiridae

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Scorpionflies

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Mecoptera

Mecoptera is an insect order with about 600 described species. They are commonly known as scorpionflies, due to enlarged genitals possessed by males, which resemble the stinger of a scorpion. They are one of major pollinators gymnosperms along with bees. Detailed work on mecopterans in Sri Lanka not yet carried out. Two species are known to live in Sri Lanka.

Family: Bittacidae - hangingflies

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Stoneflies

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Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Plecoptera

Plecoptera is an insect order with about 3,500 described species with worldwide distribution. They are one of the most primitive winged insects. The body is very simple, chewing mandibles, large compound eyes with two or three ocelli. Detailed work on plecopterans in Sri Lanka not yet carried out. Eight species within two families are known to live in Sri Lanka.

Family: Perlidae

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Family: Polyplacidae - spiny rat lice

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References

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  1. ^ "Checklist for Machilidae in Sri Lanka". insectoid. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Checklist for Atelurinae in Sri Lanka". insectoid. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Checklist for Lepismatidae in Sri Lanka". insectoid. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  4. ^ Donald J. Borror; Charles A. Triplehorn; Norman F. Johnson (1989). An Introduction to the Study of Insects (6th ed.). Harcourt Brace College Publishers. p. 247.
  5. ^ a b c Michael S. Engel & David Grimaldi (2006). "The earliest webspinners (Insecta: Embiodea)" (PDF). American Museum Novitates (3514): 1–22. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2006)3514[1:tewie]2.0.co;2. hdl:2246/5791. S2CID 85798036. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2011.
  6. ^ Daniel Rains Wallace (2009). "Biologist Janice Edgerly-Rooks & the Extraordinary Embiids, Silken Choreographies". Santa Clara Magazine. Spring.
  7. ^ Claudia Szumik (2008). "Phylogeny of embiopterans (Insecta)". Cladistics. 24 (6): 993–1005. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2008.00228.x. hdl:11336/80639. PMID 34892879. S2CID 84665640.
  8. ^ E. S. Ross (2000). "Contributions to the biosystematics of the insect order Embiidina. Part 1. Origin, relationships and integumental anatomy of the insect order Embiidina". Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences. 149: 1–53.
  9. ^ K. Yoshizawa (2007). "The Zoraptera problem: evidence for Zoraptera plus Embiodea from the wing base". Systematic Entomology. 32 (2): 197–204. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2007.00379.x. hdl:2115/33766. S2CID 53321436.
  10. ^ Matthew D. Terry; Michael F. Whiting (2005). "Mantophasmatodea and phylogeny of the lower neopterous insects". Cladistics. 21 (3): 247–257. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2005.00062.x. S2CID 86259809.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Wijesekara, Anura; Wijesinghe, D.P. "History of Insect Collection and a Review of Insect Diversity in Sri Lanka". Ceylon Journal of Science: 59. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.379.2411. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ a b c d e f Bambaradeniya, Channa N. B. (2006). The Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research, and Conservation. ISBN 9789558177518. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  13. ^ Chandra, Kailash. Dawn, Prosenjit. "First records of four species of webspinners (Insecta: Embioptera) from Chhattisgarh, India". Retrieved 8 June 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Ross, Edwards. "Embioptera from Sri Lanka (Ceylon)" (PDF). Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  15. ^ Poolprasert, Pisit. "The Embiopteran Genus Oligotoma Westwood, 1837 (Embioptera: Oligotomidae), with Three New Recorded Species from Thailand" (PDF). Kasetsart J. (Nat. Sci.). Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  16. ^ "species Aposthonia ceylonica (Enderlein, 1912)". Embioptera Species File (Version 5.0/5.0). Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  17. ^ "species Aposthonia minuscula (Enderlein, 1912)". Embioptera Species File (Version 5.0/5.0). Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  18. ^ "species Oligotoma humbertiana (Saussure, 1896)". Embioptera Species File (Version 5.0/5.0). Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  19. ^ "species Oligotoma saundersii (Westwood, 1837)". Embioptera Species File (Version 5.0/5.0). Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  20. ^ "National Barkfly (Outdoor Psocoptera) Recording Scheme".
  21. ^ Christopher O'Toole (2002). Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders. Toronto: Firefly Books. ISBN 978-1-55297-612-8.
  22. ^ John R. Meyer (5 March 2005). "Psocoptera". North Carolina State University. Archived from the original on 5 February 2007.
  23. ^ Alfonso N. García Aldrete (2006). "New genera of Psocoptera (Insecta), from Mexico, Belize and Ecuador (Psoquillidae, Ptiloneuridae, Lachesillidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1319: 1–14. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1319.1.1.
  24. ^ New, T. R. (1977). "Epipsocidae and Pseudocaeciliidae (Psocoptera) from Sri Lanka". Oriental Insects. 11 (3): 409–420. doi:10.1080/00305316.1977.10433824.
  25. ^ "Checklist of Psocoptera according to the World Catalogue (Lienhard & Smithers, 2002)". Natural History Museum of the City of Geneva. Department of Arthropodology and Entomology I. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  26. ^ Tillekaratne, Kalpana, Mound, Laurence A., Zur Strassen, R., Edirisinghe, Jayanthi P. "List of Thrips (Thysanoptera) recorded from Sri Lanka" (PDF). J. NatnSci.Foundation Sri Lanka. Retrieved 8 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Tillekaratne, Kalpana, Edirisinghe, J.P., Gunatilleke, C.V.S., Karunaratne, W. A. I. P. "Survey of thrips in Sri Lanka: A checklist of thrips species, their distribution and host plants" (PDF). University of Peradeniya. Retrieved 8 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ Fleas: What They Are, What To Do Archived 30 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine D. L. Richman and P. G. Koehler, University of Florida IFAS Extension. Accessed 10 December 2010
  29. ^ "Checklist of Siphanaptera in Sri Lanka". insectoid.info. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  30. ^ Wise, Keith Arthur John (22 February 2016). "Caddisfly". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  31. ^ Glenn B. Wiggins, Larvae of the North American Caddisfly General (Trichoptera), 2nd. ed. (Toronto: University Press, 1996), p. 3
  32. ^ "Insecta-Trichoptera checkList" (PDF). biodiversity.be. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  33. ^ "Diplectroninae Of Sri Lanka (Trichoptera : Hydropsychidae)". biodiversitylibrary.org. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  34. ^ "A new species of Anisocentropus (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae) from Sri Lanka". Biodiversity library. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  35. ^ Chantaramongkol, P. (1987). "The Caddisflies of Sri Lanka". Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Trichoptera. Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Trichoptera Volume 39 of the series Series Entomologica. pp. 109–110. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-4043-7_19. ISBN 978-94-010-8294-5.
  36. ^ Malicky, Hans (1983). "Caddisflies (Trichoptera) from Parakrama Samudra, an ancient man-made lake in Sri Lanka". Limnology of Parakrama Samudra — Sri Lanka. Limnology of Parakrama Samudra — Sri Lanka. Volume 12 of the series Developments in Hydrobiology. pp. 227–228. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-7281-0_21. ISBN 978-94-009-7283-4.
  37. ^ Whiting, M. F (2003). "Strepsiptera". In Resh, V. H. & R. T. Cardé (ed.). Encyclopedia of Insects. Academic Press. pp. 1094–1096.
  38. ^ Kathirithamby, Jeyaraney. "Descriptions of Strepsiptera (Insecta) from Southeast Asia, With a Checklist of the Genera and Species Occurring in the Region" (PDF). Raffles bulletin of Zoology. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  39. ^ Kathirithamby, Jeyaraney. "Partial List of Strepsiptera Species". Tree of Life Project. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  40. ^ Kifune, Teiji. "Records of the Strepsiptera of Sri Lanka in the Collection of the Smithsonian Institution, With Descriptions of Seven New Species (Notulae Strepsipterologicae-VI)" (PDF). ESAKIA. pp. 143–159. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  41. ^ "Zeylanica/Journal of South Asian Natural History > Volume 1 Number 1". wht.lk. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  42. ^ "Three New Species of the Genus Paraxenos (Strepsiptera: Stylopidae) Parasitic On Bembix (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) of Sri Lanka and Australia in the Collection of the Smithsonian Institution (Notulae Strepsipterologicae-Xvii)". Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  43. ^ "Morphology and Prevalence of the Louse Haematomyzus elephantis in captive Asian elephants in Sri Lanka" (PDF). Sarasaviya. Retrieved 1 November 2017.

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