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elytra| Horny wing cases characteristic of beetles. The elytra are adapted from the beetles' forewings (only the hindwings are used for flight). They fold over the back, generally meeting in the middle in a straight line, and serve to protect the hindwings and the soft posterior parts of the body. |
| Elytra are also to be found in earwigs. |
| In Hemiptera (true bugs) the forewings are hardened over half their length and are known as hemelytra. In Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts) the forewings are greatly thickened and are known as tegmina. |
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