mesosoma noun - the middle part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the metasoma. It bears the legs, and, in the case of winged insects, the wings.

In Apocrita Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants), it consists of the three thoracic segments and the first abdominal segment (the propodeum). For historical reasons, in ants it is commonly referred to by the alternative name alitrunk. (Initial definition based on Wikipedia entry for Mesosoma.)

See Also

prosoma

mesosoma (alitrunk)

metasoma

Internet References

Wikipedia--Mesosoma

Contributed by Cotinis on 24 March, 2008 - 10:35am
Last updated 25 March, 2008 - 11:06am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version