Pronotum
Twenty-two-point ladybug with a white pronotum
The term pronotum or (pro) scutum describes a shield-shaped upper part (pro notum ) of the first segment of the thorax ( prothorax ) in insects , especially in beetles (Coleoptera), earwigs (Dermaptera), cockroaches (Blattodea), grasshoppers (Orthoptera) and Bedbugs (Heteroptera).
The pronotum in humpback chirps is particularly large and often even provided with protrusions (hence the name).
Parts of the meso- and metanotum are also referred to as the meso- and metascutum , but not as the pronotum . The smaller shield located in the middle behind the pronotum is called the scutellum .
literature
- Hermann Weber: Textbook of Entomology. Gustav Fischer Verlag Stuttgart, 1968.