A nygma (plural nygmata) is a spot on the wings of certain insects which have a peculiar dense cuticular structure. They are found only in the wings of endopterygotes but found only in some insect groups. Nygmata are found in

caddisflies The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the b ...

scorpionflies Mecoptera (from the Greek language, Greek: ''mecos'' = "long", ''ptera'' = "wings") is an Order (biology), order of insects in the superorder Endopterygota with about six hundred species in nine Family (biology), families worldwide. Mecopterans ...

, saw-flies and in some families of

Neuroptera The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order consists of some 6,000 species. Neuroptera can be grouped together with the Megaloptera and Raphidioptera in th ...

(e.g.

Megaloptera Megaloptera is an order of insects. It contains the alderflies, dobsonflies and fishflies, and there are about 300 known species. The order's name comes from Ancient Greek, from ''mega-'' (μέγα-) "large" + ''pteryx'' (πτέρυξ) "wing ...

and

Ithonidae Ithonidae, commonly called moth lacewings and giant lacewings, is a small family of winged insects of the insect order Neuroptera. The family contains a total of ten living genera, and over a dozen extinct genera described from fossils. The mod ...

). The function of nygmata are unknown: they do not connect with nerves or glands. They are typically circular. They never occur on the veins and veins always appear to branch around them. Nygmata show up even in fossil

Osmylidae Osmylidae are a small family of winged insects of the net-winged insect order Neuroptera. The osmylids, also called lance lacewings, stream lacewings or giant lacewings, are found all over the world. There are around 225 extant species. Descr ...

from China. The positions and structure of nygmata are often used in the descriptions of insect species that bear them.

References

Insect anatomy {{insect-anatomy-stub