There are various disparate groups of wingless insects. Apterygota are a subclass of small, agile insects, distinguished from other insects by their lack of wings in the present and in their evolutionary history. They include Thysanura (silverfish and firebrats). Some species lacking wings are members of insect orders that generally do have wings. Some do not grow wings at all, having "lost" the possibility in the remote past. Some have reduced wings that are not useful for flying. Some develop wings but shed them after they are no longer useful. Other groups of insects may have castes with wings and castes without, such as ants. Ants have alate queens and males during the mating season and wingless workers, which allows for smaller workers and more populous colonies than comparable winged wasp species.[1]

Wingless flies

edit

True flies are insects of the order Diptera. The name is derived from the Greek di- = two, and ptera = wings. Most insects of this order have two wings (not counting the halteres, club-like limbs which are homologous to the second pair of wings found on insects of other orders). Wingless flies are found on some islands and other isolated places. Some are parasites, resembling ticks.

Wingless flies

edit

Fly species that shed wings

edit

Wingless mutant flies

edit

Wingless moths

edit

There are many species of wingless moths. Often only the females are wingless (larviform females).

Moth species having wingless females

edit
Many more

Flightless moths

edit

Wingless wasps

edit

Wasp species having wingless females

edit

Others

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Peeters, Christian; Ito, Fuminori (2015). "Wingless and dwarf workers underlie the ecological success of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)" (PDF). Myrmecological News. 21: 117–130. ISSN 1997-3500. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  2. ^ Ellis, James; Mortensen, Ashley; Nalen, C. M. Zettel. "Bee Louse, Bee Fly, Braulid, Braula coeca Nitzsch (Insecta: Diptera: Braulidae)" (PDF). University of Florida. Retrieved 11 July 2021.