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Building an Enhanced Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Insect Flight
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Flightlessness in insects.

D L Wagner1, J K Liebherr

  • 1David Wagner is at the Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3043, USA.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|January 18, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Insect wing evolution is key, but flight loss is common, especially in stable habitats. This phenomenon involves reproductive trade-offs and is influenced by environmental factors and hormones.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Entomology
  • Ecology

Background:

  • Wing evolution is a pivotal event in insect diversification.
  • Flight loss has independently evolved in numerous insect lineages, particularly in stable environments.
  • Wing polymorphism in insects involves trade-offs between flight and reproduction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence and evolutionary context of flight loss in insects.
  • To explore the selective pressures and environmental triggers associated with flightlessness.
  • To understand the role of juvenile hormone in regulating flight loss in alary polyphenic taxa.

Main Methods:

  • Phylogenetic comparative analyses across insect orders.
  • Examination of reproductive potentials in winged versus flightless morphs.

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  • Analysis of environmental factors (biotic and abiotic) influencing flight loss.

    • Main Results:

    • Flight loss is widespread across pterygote insect orders, correlating with habitat stability.
    • Selective trade-offs exist in reproductive strategies between winged and flightless forms.
    • Environmental cues likely modulate juvenile hormone levels, triggering flight loss in polyphenic species.

    Conclusions:

    • Flight loss is a significant evolutionary outcome in insects, driven by environmental factors and linked to reproductive strategies.
    • Understanding the hormonal and phylogenetic basis of flight loss is crucial for insect evolutionary studies.
    • Further research into alary polyphenism and its environmental triggers will illuminate insect diversification patterns.