Blowfly yaw control via electrical stimulation of the H1 lobula plate tangential cell

Eliciting predictable flight responses in insects via exogenous stimulation of the nervous system is an area of both scientific and engineering interest. Blowflies in particular possess an excellent biological flight control system, making them an ideal system for characterising responses to stimulation. Here we demonstrate a means of electrically controlling Calliphoridae-Protophormia terranovae wing behaviour, generating a repeatable yaw response via biphasic electrical stimulation of the H1 lobula plate tangential cell (LPTC). We found that a 10 mA current pulse at a frequency of 30–270 Hz produces a yaw response in the preferred direction of H1 in a tethered blowfly preparation, and the magnitude of the yaw response is proportional to the frequency of the stimulus. This result suggests that these LPTCs, which encode optic flow, may be a viable interface for controlling fly flight behaviour. This platform could find application not only for micro air vehicles (MAVs), but also in developing flight models or for studying neurological control of fly flight behaviour.