DIPLURAN

Dipluran (Japygidae) also called apteran, or entotrophian group of small primitive wingless insects (about 400 species) of the subclass Apterygota. Some entomologists consider many of their features similar to those associated with ancestral insects. Diplurans are blind, pale insects that live in soil and feed on decaying vegetation and plant tissues; thus they often damage growing plants. The order is divided into three families. Typically the members of the campodeid family have two long, slender abdominal cerci (sensory appendages) that are sensitive to vibrations; these insects are commonly known as twintails. The cerci of the japygid family are modified into hard pincers that are used to catch prey. Members of the third family, the projapygids, also have cerci.