Meanings
- not comparablein tracheal systems, properly: having all ten pairs of spiracles functional, as occurs in the caterpillar larvae of some Hymenoptera. Loosely applied also to insects (properly termed hemipneustic) in which most, but not all, spiracles are functional.
1 more example
1964 O.W. Richards & R.G. Davies A general textbook of entomology pub. Methuen The Holopneustic Respiratory System... is the most primitive arrangement found in living insects, 10 pairs of functional spiracles being present, on the first 8 abdominal segments, the metathorax and either the prothorax or the mesothorax. It is characteristic of the nymphs and imagines of many orders and of the larvae of the Bibionidae (Diptera) and some Hymenoptera.
Origin
From ὅλος (hólos, “entire, whole”) and πνευστικός (pneustikós).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
holopneustic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holopneustic
“holopneustic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holopneustic. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “holopneustic,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holopneustic.
Source: holopneustic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.