Wing sheath
The pocket-shaped structures on the thorax of larvae of hemimetabolic insects , in which the wings develop , are called wing sheaths , sometimes also as hind wing sheaths . In particular, they serve to protect the developing, membranous wings.
The wing systems that are already present early in larval development grow in the successive moults and are strongly folded in the wing sheaths. The fully grown wings are pulled out of the wing sheaths during the imaginal molt (the molting of the last larval stage to the imago ). In the holometabolic insects , on the other hand, the wings are only put on when the pupa is resting , the larvae accordingly have no wing sheaths.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b Gerhard Seifert: Entomological internship. Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 1975; P. 217, ISBN 3-13-4550-02-4 .