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wings

  • In the Sub-Antarctic Islands, the wind is so strong that insects can't fly. (Wikimedia Commons)
    Flight Loss
    Walker Rhea
    Most insects fly—but, across millennia, many species have lost the ability. Island dwelling insects have been especially prone to this evolutionary trend.
  • A swallowtail butterfly in the wild. (Brocken Inaglory, Wikimedia Commons)
    How Butterflies Keep Their Wings Cool
    Walker Rhea
    In 2020 an interdisciplinary team of American researchers published a study on how butterflies keep their wings cool. Using a specialized infrared camera, they found that the living parts of the wings, around the wing veins, were best at radiating heat.