Key Words：flight muscles, apoptosis, migration, migration mechanisms

Abstract：        Cell apoptosis is a process causing cell death in multicellular organisms that is stimulated by hormones and regulated and modulated by specific genes and proteins. It plays an important role in germinating, developing, aging and the degeneration of certain cells and tissues. Flight muscle apoptosis is especially important in insects that migrate over long distances. The timing of this process determines whether such insects can locate preferable plant hosts or better habitats and indirectly affects the nature of the damage such pests inflict on agricultural plant crops. In this article, we summarize the genes and proteins which encode or regulate parts of insects’ flight muscle and discuss the molecular mechanism of flight muscle apoptosis and its role in the regulation of insect migration.