Back to Show
Eons
When Insects First Flew
Season 1
Episode 49
Insects were the first animals to ever develop the ability to fly, and, arguably, they did it the best. But this development was so unusual that scientists are still working on, and arguing about, how and when insect wings first came about.
Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Support Provided By

9:11
For some, the rise of venomous elapid snakes was an almost apocalyptic catastrophe.

12:07
When you only have fossils, how do you know if a dinosaur is female or male?

11:57
What are animal-like fossils doing in rocks a billion years old?

9:41
Paranthropus lived alongside our ancestors. If we are still here, why aren’t they?

8:42
Exoskeleton fragments may have allowed microbes to sail the ocean and change the world.

10:45
Fire only exists only on Earth because fire can’t exist without life.

7:09
Turns out bats didn’t give us butterflies and we should be thanking bees and beans.

8:58
Graptolites show us how unpredictable the Silurian period really could be.

9:05
How can we figure out when we first started wearing clothes?

7:50
From an evolutionary perspective, is bigger always better?

9:14
How did ants take over the world?

9:31
This is how our planet rescued itself from extreme conditions in the Cretaceous Period.