The spectacular evolutionary success of insects surpasses that of any multi-cellular life form on Earth. Arguably, the key feature that enabled the rapid diversification and global colonization of insects was their ability to fly. The other factor that made insects so successful was the evolution of small body size.
Indeed, the smallest insects are among the smallest multicellular life forms ever described, including insects that are smaller than single cells. Yet, these insects are able to fly, even tough miniaturization of body size is not conducive to the physics of flight. How have insects dealt with the challenge? In my seminar, I will describe this question, and some of the solutions that insects have evolved during the course of their life history.