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

Wingless females of many tropical species present a close superficial resemblance to woodlice; and one interesting apterous form known as Pseudoglomeris, from the East Indies, is able to roll up like a millipede.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various

All fruit and forest trees suffer from these curious insects, which in the female sex always remain apterous and apodal and live attached to the bark, leaf and fruit, hidden beneath variously formed scale-like coverings.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 10 "Echinoderma" to "Edward" by Various

Symphyla: a group name for apterous species resembling myriapods in appearance, with functional abdominal legs and the genital openings on the last abdominal segment: regarded by some as connecting forms between insects and myriapods, e.g.

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

From this egg in the spring emerges an apterous female who makes a gall in the new leaf and lays therein a large number of eggs.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various

Some of the apterous young that are hatched from these form fresh galls and continue to multiply in the leaves, others descend to the root of the plant, becoming what are known as root-forms.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various