Jarmila Kukalová-Peck

Jarmila Kukalová-Peck (July 28, 1930 – August 13, 2024) was a Czech-born Canadian paleoentomologist known for her theories on insect wings and their evolution, particularly her epicoxal theory. Kukalová-Peck's contributions included: a new scheme for wing vein structure, a hypothetical scheme of the ancestral insect wing, and a new proposal regarding the original components of the arthropod leg. Examples of Permian beetles. (A and B) Tshekardocoleidae, Moravocoleus permianus Kukalová, 1969, photograph and reconstruction. In 1970, Kukalová married American-born entomologist Stewart Peck, who shared several of her passions, especially beetles. They moved to Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, where they established their home. With this theory, she proposed that the wing originated from an epicoxal succession of the insect leg, hence the name epicoxal theory.

Jarmila Kukalová-Peck died at 94 on August 13, 2024.

Selected honors Royal Society of Canada, Fellow Entomological Society of the Czech Republic, Honorary Life Member Awarded the Entomological Society of Canada’s Gold Medal in 1996 "for her groundbreaking research." She was the first woman to receive this honour.

Selected works Kukalová-Peck, Jarmila. "Origin of the insect wing and wing articulation from the arthropodan leg." Canadian Journal of Zoology 61, no. 7 (1983): 1618–1669. Kukalová-Peck, Jarmila, and John F. Lawrence. "Evolution of the hind wing in Coleoptera." The Canadian Entomologist 125, no. 2 (1993): 181-258. Kukalová-Peck, Jarmila, and John F. Lawrence. "Relationships among coleopteran suborders and major endoneopteran lineages: evidence from hind wing characters." European Journal of Entomology 101, no. 1 (2004): 95-144.