Insects took to the empty skies sometime between 300 million and 360 million years ago, long before birds, bats or pterosaurs. Wings allowed them to conquer new habitats and ecological niches, and ...

But insect wings evolved so long ago, he adds, “it’s hard to tell what happened”. That hasn’t stopped researchers from trying to figure it out.

In 1870, a German anatomist named Karl Gegenbaur was the first person to theorize that abdominal gills on water insects like mayflies eventually developed into wings. For the next 150 years ...

Who is the beetle that can fold its delicate wings into an origami shape, keeping them safely tucked away as it scampers ...

Mayflies emerge from the water after developing as an aquatic nymph over a period ranging from a couple of months up to a ...

Other insects communicate too and do so through various ways — rubbing wings together, for example, or vibrating their abdomens. Scientists think some even communicate through different dialects .

Now buzzing and whizzing around every continent, insects were mysteriously scarce in the fossil record until 325 million years ago -- when they first took flight and, according to a new study ...

And given that an insect’s wings provide the lift and thrust forces necessary for flight, they’ve been the focus of a lot of research. But biologists have long wondered if insects also use ...

This vortex creates the force necessary to lift the insect between wing flaps. Similar vortices might be generated by the angle and rotation of the wings, Weis-Fogh posited, providing additional lift.

Beetle wings are often hidden. Nestled behind armored shields on the beetle’s back, they unfurl in whirring sheets, whisking their clumsy owners from danger. Beetles don’t have more than two ...