The Evolution of Insect Flight (Oxford Science Publications)

From clumsy, heavy cockroach-like creatures that fly slowly from twig to twig, to flies and wasps with highly elaborate flight modes, this book describes the fascinating story of insect flight evolution. Written by a leading authority on the subject, the book draws together the diverse strands of fossil evidence, structure, phylogeny, aerodynamics, and behavior to examine both the details and the overall progression of insect flight evolution. Topics include flight types, structural principles of insect flight systems, insect flight aerodynamics, tendencies of evolutionary changes in the different components of flight systems, stages of wing apparatus evolution, and ways of optimizing wing-air interaction. Fine illustrations supplement the text throughout. Researchers, teachers, and students of entomology, evolutionary biology, biomechanics, and taxonomy will want to own this empirically based approach to an important subject.

Andrei K. Brodsky is Professor of Entomology of the University of St Petersburg in Russia.