ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to primarily concerned with the common orders of ametabolous and hemimetabolous insects associated with food production and food storage, which include Thysanura, Blattaria, Dermaptera and Psocoptera. These groups contain insects known for their ability to transmit disease and to be prolific and gregarious invaders of buildings. Chewing mouthparts are simple; mandibles are dicondylic, biting transversely as in ectognathous winged insects with the molar and incisor regions contiguous. The maxillary palpi can be five or six segmented. Antennae are generally filiform and can extend the length of the body. Earwigs are rather elongated, somewhat flattened insects. The fairly heavily sclerotized body is similar to that of the rove beetle; however, it is easily distinguished by a pair of forceps-type cerci projecting from the posterior end of the abdomen in both males and females. Booklice and other psocids are small, soft-bodied insects, often white to light in color, with long filiform antennae of 12–50 segments.
