A taxonomic grouping or classification of insects characterized by club-shaped antennae, sometimes used as a suborder or family designation in older entomological systems.
From Latin 'clavis' (club) + 'cornu' (horn) + '-ia' (suffix forming noun groups). Used in scientific taxonomy to denote a group unified by this antenna characteristic.
Clavicornia was originally treated as a major insect suborder by 19th-century naturalists, but modern genetic analysis has basically demolished this classification because it turns out antenna shape evolved independently many times—it's a case where nature's exterior decorations lied about family relationships.
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