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Themetathorax is the posterior of the three segments in thethorax of aninsect, and bears the third pair oflegs. Its principalsclerites (exoskeletal plates) are themetanotum (dorsal), themetasternum (ventral), and themetapleuron (lateral) on each side. The metathorax is the segment that bears thehindwings in most winged insects, though sometimes these may be reduced or modified, as in the flies (Diptera), in which they are reduced to formhalteres, or flightless, as in beetles (Coleoptera), in which they may be completely absent even though forewings are still present. All adult insects possess legs on the metathorax. In most groups of insects, the metanotum is reduced relative to themesonotum. In the suborderApocrita of theHymenoptera, the first abdominal segment is fused to the metathorax, and is then called thepropodeum.[1]
Apocrita are characterized by having the first abdominal tergite incorporated in the metathorax as the propodeum.
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