The power-speed relationship is U-shaped in two free-flying hawkmoths (Manducasexta).

ABSTRACT: A flying animal can minimize its energy consumption by choosing an optimal flight speed depending on the task at hand. Choice of flight speed can be predicted by modelling the aerodynamic power required for flight, and this tool has previously been used extensively in bird migration research. For insects, however, it is uncertain whether any of the commonly used power models are useful, as insects often operate in a very different flow regime from vertebrates. To investigate this, we measured aerodynamic power in the wake of two Manduca sexta flying freely in a wind tunnel at 1-3.8 ms-1, using tomographic particle image velocimetry (tomo-PIV). The expended power was similar in magnitude to that predicted by two classic models. However, the most ubiquitously used model, originally intended

SUBMITTER: Warfvinge K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5636272 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature