The Nervous Control of Insect Flight and Related Behavior

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the neuromotor coordination underlying the flight movements. It presents a brief description of wing movements and aerodynamics, especially recent results, along with an extensive survey of motor output patterns in a variety of flying insects, together with descriptions of patterns of use of the same output elements in other behaviors such as singing, walking, and behavioral temperature regulation. Discussions of some related special topics; sound production, effects of temperature on flight motor patterns, temperature regulation are presented. The chapter presents theoretical discussions of coordinating mechanisms. Much information is included only in the figure legends. Less dramatic than changes from one behavior to another are control modulations of the flight itself. Most insects use four wings during flight, but in many cases they are moved nearly as a single pair. True bugs and bees hook the fore- and hindwings together. In flies the hind pair of wings are lost as aerodynamic power organs, but serve as pure sense organs for flight stabilization. The smaller hindwings are partly covered by the hind edge of the forewing and appear to be pressed down by it during downstroke. The elytra, however, may be used as gliding planes and thus contribute to lift; and if they are capable of even slow adjustment of angle of attack, could be used in control of direction. The chapter also provides an overview of notions of aerodynamic behavior in the locust Schistocerca .