Here comes the super fly! Scientists create insects capable of turning and dodging faster in the air

From their uncanny ability to evade being swatted, you could be forgiven for thinking fruit flies are masters of aerial performance.

New research, however, has revealed the insects have actually evolved wings that are far from the best shape for agility in the air.

Scientists have created fruit flies with a range of wing shapes and found those with the altered wings were much more manoeuvrable than those that occur naturally.

High speed cameras, the researchers were able to track the flies and reconstruct their flights in a computer simulator.

The researchers say the insects with the better agility in the air would be better at out manoeuvring predators like dragonflies.

But they also found the new wings had a draw back – they were much less efficient, causing the flies with them to burn far more energy than those with wing shapes found in the wild.