These wings are not used for flying but instead protect the flight wings from damage. This is an image of the pattern on the elytron (hardened forewing) of a reticulated beetle (Tenomerga cinerea).

The beetle, having lost the ability to fly away from danger, has evolved crush-resistant forewings (known as elytra), to survive being pecked to death by hungry birds. The researchers used ...

Among all flying insects, beetles demonstrate the most complex wing mechanisms, involving two sets of wings: a pair of hardened forewings called elytra and a set of delicate membranous hindwings.

DESCRIPTION: At about one to 1.5 inches in length, the American burying beetle is the largest species of its genus in North America. Its body is shiny black, with hardened protective wing covers ...

Like all beetles, they have 6 legs, and the front wings are hardened into armored plates called elytra that at least ...