Abstract
The wing beat of small insects attracts special interest because conventional aerodynamics predict a reduction of flight efficiency when aerofoils are small and slow. The kinematics of the wing beat of tethered flyingDrosophila melanogasterwere investigated by using artificial slow motion pictures which were generated by single strobe flashes triggered in synchrony with the wing beat. The properties ofDrosophilawing motion are described qualitatively and compared with the published data for other dipteran insects.Drosophilamoves its wings in a pattern that differs considerably from the well-documented wing beat of the bigger blowflyPhormia. By means of a computerized three-dimensional reconstruction, the variables of the wing-beat cycle, such as wing path and angles of attack, are analysed quantitatively. These data will be the basis of aerodynamic calculations presented in accompanying papers.
Subject
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering,General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Business, Management and Accounting,Materials Science (miscellaneous),Business and International Management
Reference26 articles.
1. The wing mechanism involved in the courtship of Drosophila. exp;Bennet-Clark H. C.;Biol.,1968
2. The relationship between body angle and flight speed in free-flying Drosophila
3. Visual control of the partition of flight force between lift and thrust in free-flying Drosophila. Nature;David C. T.;Load.,1985
4. The aerodynamics of hovering insect flight. I. The quasi-steady analysis
5. The aerodynamics of hovering insect flight. III. Kinematics
Cited by
61 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