Evolution of Insects

The most recent understanding of the  evolution of insects  is based on studies of the following branches of science: molecular biology, insect morphology, paleontology, insect taxonomy, evolution, embryology, bioinformatics and scientific computing. It is estimated that the class of  insects  originated on Earth about 480 million years ago, in the  Ordovician , at about the same time  terrestrial plants  appeared. [1]  Insects evolved from a group of  crustaceans . [2]  The first insects were land bound, but about 400 million years ago in the  Devonian  period one lineage of insects evolved flight, the first animals to do so. [1]  The oldest definitive insect fossil,  Rhyniognatha hirsti , is estimated to be 407 to 396  million years old . Global climate conditions changed several times during the history of Earth, and along with it the  diversity of insects . The  Pterygotes  (winged ...