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wing venation

Wing venation of a fly, Anisopus Wing venation - Eristalis
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
No Taxon (Glossary)
No Taxon (W)
No Taxon wing venation
Identification
Wing venation - the system and/or pattern of veins of the insect wing. The pattern of wing venation is important in classification of insects at almost all taxonomic levels.
Wing venation has its own complex terminology--thus is put in a glossary entry separate from wing. The exact terminology varies somewhat from group-to-group, but modern terminology is based on the Comstock-Needham System (1). See captions to diagrams above for details.

The principal veins run more-or-less lengthwise on the wing--thus called longitudinal veins. Connecting them are a lesser number of cross-veins. A closed area bounded by veins is called a cell.
A few groups, in particular syrphid flies, have a "spurious" wing vein--see photos and diagrams in that glossary entry.
See Also
wing
vein, venation
Print References
Comstock, A Manual for the Study of Insects (1)
Internet References
Wikipedia--Comstock-Needham system
Wikimedia Commons--Comstock Needham venation system
North Carolina State University Entomology 424--Insect Wings
Brisbane Insects. Insect Wings Illustrations.
Works Cited
1.A Manual for the Study of Insects
John Henry Comstock, Anna Botsford Comstock. 1930. Comstock Publishing Company, Inc.
Contributed by Cotinis on 17 September, 2008 - 8:37am
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset
Last updated 25 June, 2010 - 7:11pm

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