Short-amplitude high-frequency wing strokes determine the aerodynamics of honeybee flight.

ABSTRACT: Most insects are thought to fly by creating a leading-edge vortex that remains attached to the wing as it translates through a stroke. In the species examined so far, stroke amplitude is large, and most of the aerodynamic force is produced halfway through a stroke when translation velocities are highest. Here we demonstrate that honeybees use an alternative strategy, hovering with relatively low stroke amplitude (approximately 90 degrees) and high wingbeat frequency (approximately 230 Hz). When measured on a dynamically scaled robot, the kinematics of honeybee wings generate prominent force peaks during the beginning, middle, and end of each stroke, indicating the importance of additional unsteady mechanisms at stroke reversal. When challenged to fly in low-density heliox, bees responded b

SUBMITTER: Altshuler DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1312389 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature