hemelytron

American  

[he-mel-i-tron] / hɛˈmɛl ɪˌtrɒn /

noun

Entomology.

hemelytra plural

1. one of the forewings of a true bug, having a hard, thick basal portion and a thinner, membranous apex.

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hemelytron British  

/ hɛˈmɛlɪˌtrɒn, ˌhɛmɪˈɛlɪˌtrɒn /

noun

1. the forewing of plant bugs and related insects, having a thickened base and a membranous apex

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hemelytral
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hemelytra
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hemelytron

First recorded in 1820–30; hem(i)- + elytron

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hemelytra

It presumably arose from a nineteenth-century confusion of the hemelytra of the Hemiptera, with the short tegmina, the covering fore-wings of the Dermaptera, that protect their hind wings when they are not in flight.

From Practical Taxidermy A manual of instruction to the amateur in collecting, preserving, and setting up natural history specimens of all kinds. To which is added a chapter upon the pictorial arrangement of museums. With additional instructions in modelling and artistic taxidermy. by Browne, Montagu

Lyæus brevipennis, Lat., also ordinarily occurs with abbreviated hemelytra; but it has been found with them perfect by Westwood, as well as with metathoracic wings.

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

Membrane -ana: any thin, transparent, flexible body tissue: specifically the wing tissue between the veins: in Heteroptera, the thin membranous tip of the hemelytra.

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

Plaques: the small leathery hemelytra in some Naucorids.

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

Corium: the elongate middle section of the hemelytra which extends from base to membrane below the embolium.

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