Insects' exuberant helmet is actually an extra set of wings, researchers show
Friday, May 6, 2011 - 16:30
in Biology & Nature
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 belief by providing proof that the exuberant helmet of Membracidae, a group of insects related to cicadas, is in fact a third pair of profoundly modified wings.