Unearthing the Evolutionary Origins of Insect Wings
Unearthing the Evolutionary Origins of Insect Wings
A handful of new studies moves the needle toward a consensus on the long-disputed question of whether insect wings evolved from legs or from the body wall, but the devil is in the details.
A handful of new studies moves the needle toward a consensus on the long-disputed question of whether insect wings evolved from legs or from the body wall, but the devil is in the details.
wings
How a Pea Aphid Decides to Make Wings or Not
Viviane Callier | Jun 1, 2020 | 2 min read
Wing development in females is environmentally controlled, but in males, an insertion on the sex chromosome appears to dictate whether the insects grow wings, according to a study.
Image of the Day: Structural Colors
Amy Schleunes | Apr 14, 2020 | 2 min read
The films coating buckeye butterflies’ wing scales vary in thickness, creating a broad spectrum of iridescent colors.
Image of the Day: Hairy Cicada
Amy Schleunes | Mar 5, 2020 | 1 min read
A single fossilized forewing belonging to a newly named cicada species that lived roughly 100 million years ago was unearthed at an abandoned Canadian mine.
Image of the Day: Moth Movement
Emily Makowski | Jan 2, 2020 | 1 min read
Neuronal signal timing is crucial for muscle coordination during flight.
Image of the Day: Horns and Wings
Emily Makowski | Nov 29, 2019 | 2 min read
Scarab beetle horns share a common genetic origin with wings.
Image of the Day: Flight Styles
Emily Makowski | Oct 25, 2019 | 2 min read
The evolution of different ways of flying in birds affected wing range of motion, but not wing shape.
Image of the Day: Bat-like Wings
Chia-Yi Hou | May 9, 2019 | 1 min read
Paleontologists find a fossil of a dinosaur, Ambopteryx longibrachium, with membranous wings, in China.
Feathered Dino Archaeopteryx Probably Flew Like a Pheasant
Ashley Yeager | Mar 13, 2018 | 2 min read
High-tech imaging of the Jurassic creature’s humerus and ulna bones reveals it flapped its wings to evade predators.
Image of the Day: Ectopic Wings
The Scientist and The Scientist Staff | Jan 24, 2018 | 1 min read
Insect wings may have evolved from multiple origins, say researchers.
Image of the Day: Butterfly Wing Scents
The Scientist and The Scientist Staff | Nov 13, 2017 | 1 min read
In Heliconius butterflies, researchers discover the importance of a male wing structure in female choice.