Editing Elytron (section)

==Description==
The elytra primarily serve as protective wing-cases for the [[hindwing]]s underneath, which are used for flying. To fly, a beetle typically opens the elytra and then extends the hindwings, flying while still holding the elytra open, though many beetles in the families [[Scarabaeidae]] and [[Buprestidae]] can fly with the elytra closed (e.g., most [[Cetoniinae]]; <ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Šípek |first1=Petr |last2=Fabrizi |first2=Silvia |last3=Eberle |first3=Jonas |last4=Ahrens |first4=Dirk |date=2016 |title=A molecular phylogeny of rose chafers (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) reveals a complex and concerted morphological evolution related to their flight mode |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790316300938 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=101 |pages=163–175 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.05.012|pmid=27165937 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>).

In a number of groups, the elytra are reduced to various degrees, (e.g., the beetle families [[Staphylinidae]] and [[Ripiphoridae]]), or secondarily lost altogether, as in various [[Elateroidea]] lineages with wingless females.

In some flightless groups, the elytra are present but fused together, and the hindwings are absent (e.g., some [[ground beetle]]s (Carabidae), [[scarab beetle]]s, and [[weevil]]s).