They pollinate our flowers, vegetables and fruit. They spread deadly diseases. They flash in the summer night. They bore into the wood in our homes. And they serve as supper for birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals - including people, Reuters reported. Insects are seemingly everywhere, and scientists have been striving to better grasp their history on Earth. An international research team on Thursday unveiled what it called the most comprehensive insect family tree ever devised, using genetic data to trace insect origins back to nearly half a billion years ago and clarify the relationships among the major insect groups. The scientists analyzed 1,478 genes from 144 species covering all the major insect groups to resolve longstanding questions about the evolution and diversification of Earth's largest and most diverse animal group. -- SPA 23:35 LOCAL TIME 20:35 GMT تغريد
