Wingless insect

There are various disparate groups of wingless insects. Apterygota are a subclass of small, agile insects, distinguished from other insects by their lack of wings in the present and in their evolutionary history. They include Thysanura (silverfish and firebrats). Some species lacking wings are members of insect orders that generally do have wings. Some do not grow wings at all, having "lost" the possibility in the remote past. Some have reduced wings that are not useful for flying. Some develop wings but shed them after they are no longer useful. Other groups of insects may have castes with wings and castes without, such as ants. Ants have alate queens and males during the mating season and wingless workers, which allows for smaller workers and more populous colonies than comparable winged wasp species.[1]

  1. ^ Peeters, Christian; Ito, Fuminori (2015). "Wingless and dwarf workers underlie the ecological success of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)" (PDF). Myrmecological News. 21: 117–130. ISSN 1997-3500. Retrieved 2021-07-22.