The development of wings in insects was a major evolutionary step. Today most insects do have wings, but there are exceptions. Some species of insects have wings that do not function or that wither away during the course of adulthood. Others emerge from the pupal state entirely without wings. Wings originally evolved as lateral extensions of the thorax that permitted the insects to glide. Later the flight muscle machinery evolved, then the ability to twist and fold the wings over the body. Further evolution has meant that insects for whom flight is unimportant have lost their wings altogether or carried only a rudimentary version of them into adulthood.
Bloodsucking fleas, of the order siphonaptera, lack wings but have powerful legs that allow them to travel by great leaps.
A parasite, the sucking louse has no wings. These lice feed feed on blood from mammals and birds, piercing a victim's skin with their pointed stylets.
Scavenging earwigs, of the order Dermaptera, usually have no wings, but a few species have two or four short and leathery wings.
The worker castes of most species of ant are wingless; only the queens have wings.
The beetle Damaster blaptoides eats land snails. Its forewings, held close to the body are not functional.
The adult silkworm moth (bombyx Mori) lives only a few days, laying eggs and flying rarely. Larvae spin threads used to make silk fabric.
The adult female psychidae bagworm moth resembles a larvae, without wings or legs. Only males take wing to find mates.
Adult female tussock moths of the species Inurois fletcheri have stunted wings or none at all.
Less than a half -inch long, primitive silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) have no wings. They feed on starch in books, paper, and fabrics.
Each year, generations of wingless aphids are born. But in the late summer, winged offspring emerge and fly to new host plants.
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