Insect melanism, especially in the peppered moth Biston betularia, has long been a textbook
case of evolution in action. Hypotheses of the role of natural selection in maintaining …

We review recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of insect immune
defence, but do so in a framework defined by the ecological and evolutionary forces that …

The gain, loss or modification of morphological traits is generally associated with changes in
gene regulation during development. However, the molecular bases underlying these …

Body coloration affects how animals interact with the environment. In insects, the rapid
evolution of black and brown melanin patterns suggests that these are adaptive traits. The …

Highlights•Tyrosine metabolism is responsible for insect cuticle coloration and
hardening.•Hard and rigid beetle cuticle has a distinctive morphology and …

Coloration is one of the most variable characters among animals and is a rich source of
models of phenotypic evolution. The great diversity of pigment patterns in Drosophila …

The understanding of the molecular basis of the endocrine control of insect metamorphosis
has been hampered by the profound differences in responses of the Lepidoptera and the …

The cuticular skeleton of a butterfly wing scale cell is an exquisitely finely sculpted material
that can contain pigments, produce structural colors, or both. While cuticle rigidity and …

Background: Changes in developmental gene expression are central to phenotypic
evolution, but the genetic mechanisms underlying these changes are not well understood …

A general understanding of the evolutionary process is limited by the contingency of each
evolutionary event, making it difficult, even retrospectively, to explain why things have …