Shared Skies: Bats, Insects, and Other Masters of Flight

Most of the time, when we think about the power of flight, we think of birds. This is to be expected, because by virtue of their songs, plumage, and distinct place in the animal kingdom, it’s safe to say that birds, on the whole, are fairly noteworthy. Yet, birds are not the only creatures on our fine planet that have proven capable of flight. Indeed, there are many other creatures out there with whom birds share the skies.

Flight is perhaps nature’s most awe-inspiring innovation. Humankind has been so enamored by it over the years, that we have sought to emulate it. Though, our methods are much more crude and hefty than the elegant designs of mother nature. to say the least. Be that as it may, the ability to take to the skies was an evolutionary trait that basically transformed the history of life on this planet. Flight opened up new habitats, food sources, and evasive methodologies.

Insects were the first to learn this skill, but over time, birds and bats followed suite. Wings were altered to suit the needs of the flier and the very process itself represents the concept of convergent evolution. this is where unrelated groups of living things independently develop similar traits because they face similar challenges.

In this article, we will discuss how the wing shapes, behavior, morphology, biology, and habitats all helped to form the many winged wonders that flit across our skies. Our focus shall be specifically on bats, dragonflies, and birds, but there are countless others that could (and may well) be discussed in this regard. Get ready to take wing, dear reader, as we journey into the very world of flight itself!

Insects: First Flyers in the Skies

Early Origins

Insects were one of the very first animals on the planet and in the early days of primordial life, they were the very first pioneers of powered flight. Most flying insects took to the skies nearly 350 million years ago during the Carboniferous period. For scale, this is many millions of years before the first birds appeared and well before the first humans. Insect wings evolved not from legs or arms, as in bats and birds, but from extensions of the animals’ exoskeletons. In this way, insect flight represents a completely distinct innovation in the animal kingdom; even if other animals cottoned on in their own way later down the line.

Dragonflies: Living Fossils

Dragonflies and damselflies are among the oldest flying insects and their gigantic ancestors date back 300 million years. Some of these ancient insects had wingspans over two feet wide! In those days, insects dominated the prehistoric skies, feasting on any unwary animal they caught beneath their mighty shadows.

Anatomy of Insect Wings

• Structure: Insects have thin, membranous wings. These wings are supported by veins which provide strength and flexibility.
• Musculature: Two main systems drive an insect’s ability to fly:
  • Direct flight (dragonflies): On these insects, wing muscles attach directly to the wing base, allowing very precise control of movement.
  • Indirect flight (bees, flies): Other flying insects have muscles that deform the thorax. They flap their wings indirectly at incredible speeds.

Flight Abilities

Aerial acrobats of the highest caliber, dragonflies are capable of hovering, flying backward, and darting to and fro with exceptional precision. A dragonfly’s two pairs of wings beat independently of one another, which is what allows them to maneuver with such unmatched agility. What many readers might now know is that these animals are predators and can catch prey midair with astounding accuracy. As predators, dragonflies have an astonishing success rate of up to 95%.

Birds: Fine Feathered Flyers

Origins from Dinosaurs

The current theory of evolution tells us that birds started evolving around 150 million years ago. This was not, as some might suspect, at the end of the Mesozoic era, but sometime during the late Jurassic period. These ancient avian ancestors were small, feathered theropod dinosaurs. The most famous of these being Archaeopteryx. Unlike insects, who evolved wings off their backs, birds “decided” to modify their forelimbs into wings.

Anatomy of Bird Wings

• Skeletal Structure: As mentioned previous, a bird’s wing is essentially a modified arm. The humerus, radius, and ulna remain as they always were, but the hand bones have been fused and elongated to support the added weight of feathers.
• Feathers: Feathers are the defining feature of birds of every kind; even penguins! They are lightweight, strong, and aerodynamic, which makes them the perfect evolutionary tool for leaping lizards on the go. Most birds possess specialized flight feathers which can form airfoils for lift, though the flightless varieties obviously use their feathers for different purposes.
• Musculature: To support the motion of flight and the weight of feathers, birds possess massive pectoral muscles, especially the pectoralis major and supracoracoideus. These muscle groups power the downstroke and upstroke.
• Respiration: Similarly, most flying birds also evolved an efficient respiratory system with air sacs, allowing continuous oxygen flow during long or particularly strenuous flight.

Flight Abilities

Birds don’t just flap about aimlessly, the different species of flying birds display a diverse range of flight strategies:

• Soaring: Albatrosses are large birds capable of gliding over oceans for hours without flapping.
• Hovering: Hummingbirds are quick fliers, beating their wings in a figure-eight pattern to remain stationary for long periods.
• High-speed pursuit: Falcons are capable of impressive aerial maneuvers, with some species able to dive at speeds over 200 mph. The Peregrine falcon, for instance, is considered the fastest animals on Earth because of this ability.

Bats: Taking to the Air at Last

Latecomers to Flight

Bats might be fascinating and eerie to behold…today, but they are relatively new to the game of flight. This is all relative, of course, as they did appear on the scene about 50 million years ago. As mammals, bats are somewhat different than their flying forerunners. They possess mammalian traits like fur, live birth, and milk production, all within the single winged package. Like birds, bat wings evolved from their forelimbs, only in a strikingly different way from birds.

Anatomy of Bat Wings

• Skeletal Structure: A bat’s wing is basically a morphed bat hand with very elongated fingers. Thin membranes of skin, otherwise known as patagium, stretches between the fingers, arm, body, and legs of the animal to form the wing.
• Flexibility: Unlike birds, a bat’s wing morphology makes it easier for them to alter the shape of their wings mid-flight, thereby giving them an increased degree of maneuverability.
• Musculature: Because bats fly by flapping, they also have stronger chest and shoulder muscles. At the same time, a bat’s flexible joints allow them to fold their wings tightly against their bodies when not flying. This is slightly different to the way birds and insects fold their wings when at rest. Moreover, their flexible wing arms and gripping fingers allow them to climb quite well via their wings.

Flight Abilities

In general, bats are actually slower than most birds. Where they do excel is in agility. A fluttering bat can turn more sharply than a bird. They are also capable of hovering for brief periods and their ability to use echolocation means they can even fly and catch prey in complete darkness.

Gliders and Imitators

Not all animals evolved the ability for powered flight. Flying fish, colugos, flying squirrels, and flying lizards all evolved gliding ability. They can glide between trees in order to escape predators, hunt, or find mates.

Human Inspiration from Animal Flight

Over the centuries, our collective study of wings has inspired humanity’s ability to fly.

• Insects: Influenced the way our current drones and microdrones fly. They utilize independent wing flapping to flutter about.
• Birds: The very first flying machines, gliders, and helicopers were inspired by birds. Even Leonardo Da Vinci’s early gliders may have been influenced by his artistic study of birds.
• Bats: Though we know significantly less about bats than the aforementioned others, these winged rodents inspire flexible-wing robotics of the modern age, especially those that can maneuver in tight spaces.

As our understanding continues to grow, today’s engineers continue to study animal flight for innovations in aeronautics and robotics.

True Investigator Says…

As you can see, the story of flight in this world is about the harmonic convergence of evolution. It is, at its core, a life lesson about the power of innovation when faced with a need to survive. Though we know that insects pioneered this adaptation, birds and mammals have found ways to follow suite; in some ways, even more effectively than the dragonflies of old once did. The mastery of air and the methods behind how creatures evolved to conquer it are examples to humankind that evolution itself is hardly a straight path. Instead, it is a branching tree, with multiple solutions that can be used to meet the same challenge. So, the next time you look up and behold one of these winged wonders, remember how amazing flight truly is!