Darwin’s error: implications for insect taxonomy

ABSTRACT: Darwin’s evolutionary theory was based on an assumption of minor modifications in variation extended over very lengthy periods, and this presumption is still held despite modern advances in understanding the interplay of genetics and environment in shaping an organism that can result in surprisingly large modifications, particularly in small organisms. Where there is little reliable fossil record of evolutionary change (as in insects) the use of several different phylogenetic techniques is needed to disentangle the effects of environmental variation and genetic differentiation, and to assess the probable rate of morphological change. Fourteen evolutionary assumptions common in entomology are challenged by such a perspective.