Articles

Flying Insects

By Anonymous

There are numerous species of flying insects in the world today—butterflies alone number thousands of species. How did insects begin to fly? Evolution theory says that they evolved from non-flying ancestors. Insects are said to have been the first living organisms to take to the air, yet, to the evolutionist, the origin of insect flight is a mystery, as the following quotation demonstrates: “Nor is anything known of the origin of winged insects, which appear and become plentiful in the coal measures of the Carboniferous…There are no fossils to show how wings evolved.” (1) Insects preserved in amber (hardened tree resin) also show no evolution, often being identical to modern species.

Some flying insects, e. g. damselflies, are capable of some impressive ‘aerobatics’. Wing movement is controlled by special muscles, and insects with two pairs of wings often have hooks to link them in flight. One scientist wrote: “The better we understand the functioning of insect wings, the more subtle and beautiful their design appear…they have few if any technological parallels—yet.’ (2) It seems incredible to believe that whilst flying machines like jet aircraft and helicopters needed designers, the more sophisticated flying insects did not.

Not only is the fossil evidence for the evolution of insect flight lacking, but it is difficult for evolutionists to explain what wings could have evolved from. Dr. Richard Dawkins mentioned the theory that they evolved from ‘solar panels’--tiny projections which helped to warm the insect’s body. (3) Others have suggested they evolved from the gills of ancient insects, and that, over time, they developed into true, flapping wings. Both these theories seem far-fetched, and there is absolutely no evidence to support them. It is more reasonable to conclude that flying insects were created to fly!

References

(1) Complete Encyclopedia of the Animal World, Octopus Books 1980, pp. 155-156

(2) Dr. Robert Wooten, Scientific American, June 1984.

(3) Climbing Mount Improbable, Penguin Books, (1997), pp. 102-103

Creation Resources Trust Original View 2001