Paddling mode of forward flight in insects.

By analyzing high-speed video of the fruit fly, we discover a swimminglike mode of forward flight characterized by paddling wing motions. We develop a new aerodynamic analysis procedure to show that these insects generate drag-based thrust by slicing their wings forward at low angle of attack and pushing backwards at a higher angle. Reduced-order models and simulations reveal that the law for flight speed is determined by these wing motions but is insensitive to material properties of the fluid. Thus, paddling is as effective in air as in water and represents a common strategy for propulsion through aquatic and aerial environments.

[1]  Z. J. Wang.  Two dimensional mechanism for insect hovering , 2000 .

[2]  R. Dudley,et al.  Mechanics of Forward Flight in Bumblebees: I. Kinematics and Morphology , 1990 .

[3]  R. Dudley.  The Biomechanics of Insect Flight: Form, Function, Evolution , 1999 .

[4]  Frank E. Fish,et al.  Transitions from Drag-based to Lift-based Propulsion in Mammalian Swimming , 1996 .

[5]  John Guckenheimer,et al.  Discovering the flight autostabilizer of fruit flies by inducing aerial stumbles , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[6]  Z. J. Wang,et al.  Fruit flies modulate passive wing pitching to generate in-flight turns. , 2009, Physical review letters.

[7]  M. Denny,et al.  Air and water : the biology and physics of life's media , 1993 .

[8]  J. Marden,et al.  Surface-Skimming Stoneflies: A Possible Intermediate Stage in Insect Flight Evolution , 1994, Science.

[9]  Jeffrey A. Walker,et al.  Kinematics, Dynamics, and Energetics of Rowing and Flapping Propulsion in Fishes1 , 2002, Integrative and comparative biology.

[10]  C. Ellington,et al.  The mechanics of flight in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. I. Kinematics of hovering and forward flight. , 1997, The Journal of experimental biology.

[11]  S. N. Fry,et al.  Visual control of flight speed in Drosophila melanogaster , 2009, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[12]  Adrian L. R. Thomas,et al.  Flying and swimming animals cruise at a Strouhal number tuned for high power efficiency , 2003, Nature.

[13]  宁北芳,et al.  疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A , 2005 .

[14]  T. Hedrick,et al.  Wingbeat Time and the Scaling of Passive Rotational Damping in Flapping Flight , 2009, Science.

[15]  S. Vogel.  Flight in Drosophila : I. Flight Performance of Tethered Flies , 1966 .

[16]  Gordon J. Berman,et al.  Automated hull reconstruction motion tracking (HRMT) applied to sideways maneuvers of free-flying insects , 2009, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[17]  Ericka Stricklin-Parker,et al.  Ann , 2005 .

[18]  V. Wigglesworth.  Evolution of Insect Wings and Flight , 1973, Nature.

[19]  S. Vogel.  Flight in Drosophila. II. Variations in stroke parameters and wing contour. , 1967, The Journal of experimental biology.

[20]  S. Harris,et al.  Symposia of the Zoological Society of London , 1993 .

[21]  R. Dudley,et al.  Mechanics of Forward Flight in Bumblebees: II. QUASI-STEADY LIFT AND POWER REQUIREMENTS , 1990 .

[22]  Sanjay P Sane,et al.  The aerodynamics of insect flight , 2003, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[23]  T. Weis-Fogh.  Quick estimates of flight fitness in hovering animals , 1973 .

[24]  S. Vogel,et al.  Life in Moving Fluids , 2020 .

[25]  R. Rosenfeld.  Nature , 2009, Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

[26]  Robert Dudley,et al.  Gliding and the Functional Origins of Flight: Biomechanical Novelty or Necessity? , 2007 .

[27]  J. Lubbock.  VI. On two Aquatic Hymenoptera, one of which uses its Wings in Swimming. , 1863 .

[28]  Z. J. Wang,et al.  The role of drag in insect hovering , 2004, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[29]  M. Dickinson,et al.  Wing rotation and the aerodynamic basis of insect flight. , 1999, Science.

[30]  R. Matheson,et al.  Aquatic Hymenoptera in America , 1912 .