The corium is the thickened, leathery, basal portion of the forewing or

hemelytron An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

of an insect in the order

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...

, suborder

Heteroptera The Heteroptera are a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are sometimes called "true bugs", though that name more commonly refers to the Hemiptera as a whole. "Typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal al ...

. Specifically, the large anterior portion of the basal region is the corium.

Hemelytra

The forewings of winged heteropterans are modified into hemelytra (singular,

), in which the basal part is thickened and leathery and the apical part is membranous. The thickened region is divided into a large, anterior corium and much smaller, posterior

clavus Clavus may refer to: * Claudius Clavus (born 1388), 15th-century Danish cartographer * ''Clavus'' (gastropod), a genus of snails in the family Drilliidae * The Roman ''clavus'', a reddish-purple stripe on garments that distinguished members of the ...

. However, entomologists commonly refer to the whole basal region of the wing as the corium. The membranous apical region typically has veins and the venation is of taxonomic importance. However, in some families, the distinction between the leathery and membranous regions of the hemelytra is not pronounced, and the wings tend to be more fully sclerotized (e.g.,

Pleidae Pleidae, the pygmy backswimmers, is a family of aquatic insects in the order Hemiptera (infraorder Nepomorpha, or "true water bugs"). There are 37 species in three genera, distributed across most of the world, except the polar regions and remote ...

) or more fully membranous (e.g., winged

Gerridae The Gerridae are a family of insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water skeeters, water scooters, water bugs, pond skaters, water skippers, water gliders, water skimmers or puddle flies. They are true bugs of the ...

). The hind wings are fully membranous and held beneath the hemelytra when at rest. In some groups, especially among aquatic heteropterans, adults of the same species, or different species in the same genus, may be fully-winged or brachypterous, micropterous, or apterous (having reduced wings or none at all).

References

{{insect-anatomy-stub Insect anatomy