Affiliation:
1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
2. School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The swinging of a mammal's tail has long been thought to deter biting insects, which, in cows, can drain up to 0.3 liters of blood per day. How effective is a mammal's tail at repelling insects? In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we filmed horses, zebras, elephants, giraffes and dogs swinging their tails. The tail swings at triple the frequency of a gravity-driven pendulum, and requires 27 times more power input. Tails can also be used like a whip to directly strike at insects. This whip-like effect requires substantial torques from the base of the tail on the order of 101–102 N m, comparable to the torque of a sedan, but still within the physical limits of the mammal. Based on our findings, we designed and built a mammal tail simulator to simulate the swinging of the tail. The simulator generates mild breezes of 1 m s–1, comparable to a mosquito's flight speed, and sufficient to deter up to 50% of mosquitoes from landing. This study may help us determine new mosquito-repelling strategies that do not depend on chemicals.
Funder
Georgia Tech School of Biology and the Elizabeth Smithgall Watts endowment
National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Publisher
The Company of Biologists
Subject
Insect Science,Molecular Biology,Animal Science and Zoology,Aquatic Science,Physiology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Reference54 articles.
1. Swinging up a pendulum by energy control;Åström;Automatica,2000
2. Effect of wind velocity on suction trap catches of some Florida mosquitoes;Bidlingmayer;J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc.,1995
3. Mammalian terrestrial locomotion and size;Biewener;Bioscience,1989
4. Don't break a leg: running birds from quail to ostrich prioritise leg safety and economy on uneven terrain;Birn-Jeffery;J. Exp. Biol.,2014
Cited by
17 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献