ERC Starting Grant · 2017
The mechanical evolution from biting-chewing to piercing-sucking in insects
Insects are extremely efficient feeders that impact on the world's ecosystems and our agriculture with their feeding capabilities. Insects evolved diverse mouthpart types during ~400 million years of evolution which allowed them to conquer many food recourses. How this feeding system evolved, in particular the transition from one mouthpart type to the other, is unclear. My idea represents the first extensive assessment of insect head mechanics applying latest semi-automatic workflows and engineering approaches to unravel the factors driving insect mouthpart evolution and performance. Specifically, I will study the mechanical evolution from early biting-chewing to piercing-sucking mouthparts…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.