Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly.They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwings, respectively, though a few insects lack hindwings, even rudiments.
The mesothorax is the segment that bears the forewings in all winged insects, though sometimes these may be reduced or modified, as in beetles or Dermaptera, in which they are sclerotized to form the elytra ("wing covers"), and the Strepsiptera, in which they are reduced to form halteres that attach to the mesonotum. [1]
The wings of Lepidoptera are minutely scaled, which gives the name to this order; the name Lepidoptera was coined in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus for the group of "insects with four scaly wings". It is derived from Ancient Greek lepis (λεπίς) meaning "(fish) scale" (and related to lepein "to peel") and pteron (πτερόν) meaning "wing".
A Lepidoptera specimen drawer in a museum collection in Poland Another Lepidoptera specimen drawer in a museum collection in Poland. Lepidopterology (from Ancient Greek λεπίδος (lepídos) ' scale ' πτερόν (pterón) ' wing ' and -λογία [1]) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the two superfamilies of butterflies.
The wings on the metathorax are transformed into the halteres or rocker arms. From this characteristic comes the name of the order, from the Greek dipteros , which means "two wings". In consequence of this morphological structure, the mesothorax represents the segment of greater development and complexity, while the prothorax and metathorax are ...
mesothorax the middle segment of the thorax, between the prothorax and the metathorax. metalmarks small metallic-looking spots commonly found on the wings of Riodinidae. metathorax The third and last segment of the thorax after the mesothorax. micropterous Having short elytra, shorter than the abdomen. mixomycetophagy feeding on myxomycetes ...
Because the mesothorax and metathorax hold the wings, they have a combined name called the pterothorax (pteron = wing). The forewing, which goes by different names in different orders (e.g., the tegmina in Orthoptera and elytra in Coleoptera), arises between the mesonotum and the mesopleuron, and the hindwing articulates between the metanotum ...
Lepidoptera (/ ˌ l ɛ p ɪ ˈ d ɒ p t ər ə / LEP-ih-DOP-tər-ə) or lepidopterans is an order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths.About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organisms, [1] [2] making it the second largest insect order (behind Coleoptera) with 126 families [3] and 46 superfamilies ...