apterous

American  

[ap-ter-uhs] / ˈæp tər əs /

adjective

1. Zoology. wingless, as some insects.

2. Botany. without membranous expansions, as a stem.

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apterous British  

/ ˈæptərəs /

adjective

1. (of insects) without wings, as silverfish and springtails

2. without winglike expansions, as some plant stems, seeds, and fruits

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Other Word Forms

• apterism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of apterous

First recorded in 1765–75, apterous is from the Greek word ápteros wingless. See a- ⁶, -pterous

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

apterous

It has long been known, indeed, that there are species in which certain individuals remain always apterous, while others acquire wings.

From On the Origin and Metamorphoses of Insects by Sir John Lubbock

The female is apterous, and has a dark-brown plano-convex body; it is found in the proportion of 150 to 200 to one of the male insect.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 "Clervaux" to "Cockade" by Various

Collembola: an ordinal term applied to species which are apterous; have no metamorphoses; have variably developed abdominal saltatorial appendages and a peculiar ventral tube at base: the spring-tails.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by John. B. Smith

The species of Gerris, Hydrometra, and Velia are mostly found perfectly apterous, though occasionally with full-sized wings.

From On the Variation of Species, with Especial Reference to the Insecta ; Followed by an Inquiry into the Nature of Genera by Thomas Vernon Wollaston

If we arrange the latter arbitrarily in the order of their size there will be an almost complete series beginning with the normal wings and ending with those of apterous flies.

From A Critique of the Theory of Evolution by Thomas Hunt Morgan