FAMILIES OF JUMPING BRISTLETAILS (ORDER ARCHEOGNATHA) OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

by
R. A. Cannings and G. G. E. Scudder 
Copyright © 2005 - All rights reserved

Key to families of Archeognatha

1. Abdomen with midventral sterna of proximal segments well developed, at least as long as one half of appendage length..............................................Machilidae

- Abdomen with midventral sterna poorly developed, at most as long as one-fourth of appendage length................................................................. Meinertellidae

Description of Families

Family Machilidae (jumping bristletails, rockhoppers)

This family is the more primitive of the two families of Archeognatha; it is most diverse in the Northern Hemisphere with 19 species in North America. There are only three or four species of Machilidae reported from Canada, although at least 10 more probably occur. In British Columbia Mesomachilis canadensis Sturm lives in dry forests and grasslands in the interior, but it has been collected only at Kamloops. An undetermined species of Pedetontus is common above high tide on rocky seashores on the south coast.

Family Meinertellidae (meinertellid bristletails)

The family Meinertellidae occurs mainly in the southern Hemisphere and is more modified from the ancestral stock of Archeognatha than is the Machilidae. All species lack styli on the coxae. Many species are diurnal, actively moving to light and warmth. Although only five species occur in North America, little is known about this family, especially in B.C. Machilinus aurantiacus (Schött) lives in dry forests and semi-arid grasslands from Arizona and California north to southern B.C., where it has been recorded at Kamloops.