Signature series
Insecta Phylogenetic Tree - 500 - Mono
Evolutionary biology · Insect phylogeny · 500 species
- Original infographic and mathematical visualisations by Simon Tyler
- Featured in The Guardian · The Times · Elle Decoration
- Free UK delivery on every order · Worldwide shipping
Insects account for over half of all known living species. This print maps 500 of them - from beetles to butterflies, ants to dragonflies - revealing the deep structure of the most successful class of animals in Earth's history.
About this print
About this print
Insects account for more than half of all described living species, which makes any diagram of them a sample rather than a survey. This one maps 500, arranged by descent across roughly 400 million years - since before there were trees to climb or flowers to visit.
The beetles are the problem the diagram makes visible. There are around 400,000 described species of them, more than in any other order of any kind of animal, and they crowd one section of the tree in a way that no amount of drawing can make proportionate. J.B.S. Haldane's remark about the Creator having an inordinate fondness for beetles was a comment on exactly this shape.
Flight appears early and only once. Every winged insect on the diagram descends from a single ancestor that solved the problem well before vertebrates managed it, and the groups that lack wings today - fleas, lice, worker ants - mostly lost them again rather than never having had them.
Part of the Signature series of scientific illustration prints.
The Signature series
The Signature series
Signature is a collection of mathematical, scientific and infographic visualisations - prime number distributions, evolutionary trees, geological timescales, and other structures that become something unexpected when rendered at print scale.
Each piece begins as a data-driven computational process and is developed into a finished artwork through a combination of custom code and design refinement. The aim is not to illustrate mathematics but to make the underlying structures visible - to find the image that was always inside the data.
The series draws on fields including number theory, evolutionary biology, palaeontology, topology, and information design.
Paper and printing
Paper and printing
All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.
Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.
Dimensions
Dimensions
Large · 50 × 70 cm · 20 × 28 in
XLarge · 70 × 100 cm · 28 × 40 in
Delivery
Delivery
UK: Free · 3-5 working days
Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges
USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days
Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days
Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days
All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.
Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.
Returns
Returns
Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.
Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.