Dragonflies use vision, subtle wing control to straighten up and fly rightDate: May 13, 2022
Source: Cornell University
Summary: Researchers have untangled the intricate physics and neural controls that enable dragonflies to right themselves while they're falling.
With their stretched bodies, immense wingspan and iridescent coloring, dragonflies are a unique sight. But their originality doesn't end with their looks: As one of the oldest insect species on the planet, they are an early innovator of aerial flight.
Now, a group led by Jane Wang, professor of mechanical engineering and physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, has untangled the intricate physics and neural controls that enable dragonflies to right themselves while they're falling.
The research reveals a chain of mechanisms that begins with the dragonfly's eyes -- all five of them -- and continues through its muscles and wing pitch.
The team's paper, "Recovery Mechanisms in the Dragonfly Righting Reflex," published May 12 in Science. Wang co-authored the paper with James Melfi, Ph.D. '15, and Anthony Leonardo of Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in Ashburn, Virginia.
For two decades, Wang has been using complex mathematical modeling to understand the mechanics of insect flight. For Wang, physics is just as important as genetics in explaining the evolution of living organisms.
"Insects are the most abundant species and were the first to discover aerial flight. And dragonflies are some of the most ancient insects," Wang said. "Trying to look at how they right themselves in air would give us insight about both the origin of flight and how animals evolved neuro-circuitries for balancing in air and navigating through space."
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Source:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220513113228.htm
