From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Segment of an insect body
The
metathorax
is the posterior of the three segments in the
thorax
of an
insect
, and bears the third pair of
legs
. Its principal
sclerites
(
exoskeletal
plates) are the
metanotum
(
dorsal
), the
metasternum
(
ventral
), and the
metapleuron
(
lateral
) on each side. The metathorax is the segment that bears the
hindwings
in most winged insects, though sometimes these may be reduced or modified, as in the flies (
Diptera
), in which they are reduced to form
halteres
, or flightless, as in beetles (
Coleoptera
), in which they may be completely absent even though forewings are still present. All adult insects possess legs on the metathorax. In most groups of insects, the metanotum is reduced relative to the
mesonotum
. In the suborder
Apocrita
of the
Hymenoptera
, the first abdominal segment is fused to the metathorax, and is then called the
propodeum
.
[1]
See also
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]
References
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]