Clap and Fling Interaction of Bristled Wings: Effects of Varying Reynolds Number and Bristle Spacing on Force Generation and Flow Structures

The smallest flying insects with body lengths under 1 mm, such as thrips and fairyflies, typically show the presence of long bristles on their wings. Thrips have been observed to use wing-wing interaction via 'clap and fling' for flapping flight at low Reynolds number (Re) on the order of 10, where a wing pair comes into close contact at the end of upstroke and fling apart at the beginning of downstroke. We examined the effects of varying the following parameters on force generation and flow structures formed during clap and fling: (1) Re ranging from 5 to 15 for a bristled wing pair (G/D=17) and a geometrically equivalent solid wing pair; and (2) ratio of spacing between bristles to bristle diameter (G/D) for Re=10. The G/D ratio in 70 thrips species were quantified from published forewing images. Scaled-up physical models of three bristled wing pairs of varying G/D (5, 11, 17) and a solid wing pair (G/D=0) were fabricated. A robotic model was used for this study, in which a wing pair was immersed in an aquarium tank filled with glycerin and driven by stepper motors to execute clap and fling kinematics. Dimensionless lift and drag coefficients were determined from strain gauge measurements. Phase-locked particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were used to examine flow through the bristles. Chordwise PIV was used to visualize the leading edge vortex (LEV) and trailing edge vortex (TEV) formed over the wings during clap and fling. With increasing G/D, larger reduction was observed in peak drag coefficients as compared to reduction in peak lift coefficients. Net circulation, defined as the difference in circulation (strength) of LEV and TEV, diminished with increasing G/D. Reduction in net circulation resulted in reducing lift generated by bristled wings as compared to solid wings. Leaky, recirculating flow through the bristles provided large drag reduction during fling of a bristled wing pair. If flight efficiency is defined as the ratio of lift to drag, largest peak lift to peak drag ratios were obtained in bristled wings as compared to the solid wings across the entire range of Re and G/D tested.Mechanical & Aerospace Engineerin

Sensors and Sensory Processing for Airborne Vibrations in Silk Moths and Honeybees

Insects use airborne vibrations caused by their own movements to control their behaviors and produce airborne vibrations to communicate with conspecific mates. In this review, I use two examples to introduce how insects use airborne vibrations to accurately control behavior or for communication. The first example is vibration-sensitive sensilla along the wing margin that stabilize wingbeat frequency. There are two specialized sensors along the wing margin for detecting the airborne vibration caused by wingbeats. The response properties of these sensors suggest that each sensor plays a different role in the control of wingbeats. The second example is Johnston’s organ that contributes to regulating flying speed and perceiving vector information about food sources to hive-mates. There are parallel vibration processing pathways in the central nervous system related with these behaviors, flight and communication. Both examples indicate that the frequency of airborne vibration are filtered on the sensory level and that on the central nervous system level, the extracted vibration signals are integrated with other sensory signals for executing quick adaptive motor response

Analysis and network simulations of honeybee interneurons responsive to waggle dance vibration signals

BACKGROUND: Honeybees have long fascinated neuroscientists with their highly evolved social structure and rich behavioral repertoire. They sense air vibrations with their antennae, which is vital for several activities during foraging, like waggle dance communication and flight. GOALS: This thesis presents the investigation of the function of an identified vibration-sensitive interneuron, DL-Int-1. Primary goals were the investigation of (i) adaptations during maturation and (ii) the role of DL-Int-1 in networks encoding distance information of waggle dance vibration signals. RESULTS: Visual inspection indicated that DL-Int-1 morphologies had similar gross structure, but were translated, rotated and scaled relative to each other. To enable detailed spatial comparison, an algorithm for the spatial co-registration of neuron morphologies, Reg-MaxS-N was developed and validated. Experimental data from DL-Int-1 was provided by our Japanese collaborators. Comparison of morphologies from newly emerged adult and forager DL-Int-1 revealed minor changes in gross dendritic features and consistent, region-dependent and spatially localized changes in dendritic density. Comparison of electrophysiological response properties showed an increase in firing rate differences between stimulus and non-stimulus periods during maturation. A putative disinhibitory network in the honeybee primary auditory center was proposed based on experimental evidence. Simulations showed that the network was consistent with experimental observations and clarified the central inhibitory role of DL-Int-1 in shaping the network output. RELEVANCE: Reg-MaxS-N presents a novel approach for the spatial co-registration of morphologies. Adaptations in DL-Int-1 morphology during maturation indicate improved connectivity and signal propagation. The central role of DL-Int-1 in a disinhibitory network in the honeybee primary auditory center combined with adaptions in its response properties during maturation could indicate better encoding of distance information from waggle dance vibration sig- nals