In 250 million years of insect evolution, the appearance of new wings is unprecedented. Transformations and losses of wings, yes, but additions, never. A research team in France has shattered this ...

When I was little, I loved chasing butterflies. It’s fun to run after them as they flit and flutter. But I didn’t eat them. I asked my friend Rich Zack if that was an oversight. He’s an insect ...

Researchers have developed sophisticated numerical simulations of a butterfly's forward flight. In Robert A. Heinlein's science-fiction novel, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, one of the characters ...

With their proportionately bulky bodies supported by puny wings, many flying insects look about as airworthy as a Mack truck. French Zoologist Antoine Magnan once studied bumblebees for several years, ...

Despite their variety today, all winged insects share a similar body plan, honed over 300 million years of evolution. Each has a thorax in three segments, with a pair of legs on each segment, and a ...

(A) Schematic diagram of the overall experimental setup. (B) The bees’ flight experiment box. (C) Photos of the experimental setup. (D) Schematic of the bees’ loading method and masses. CMOS, ...

Scientists have used a particle accelerator to obtain high-speed 3D X-ray visualizations of the flight muscles of flies. The team from Oxford University, Imperial College, and the Paul Scherrer ...

In this activity, students will familiarize themselves with the distinguishing physical characteristics of an insect’s anatomy. Students will observe and maintain live crickets to learn the function ...