Smoke visualization of free-flying bumblebees indicates independent leading-edge vortices on each wing pair

Bomphrey, Richard J.; Taylor, Graham P.; Thomas, Adrian L. R.

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-11633-9_20

Cited by 27 publications

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“…Trajectories were filtered beneath wingbeat frequency, and the average flight speed was calculated using numerical differencing of the positional data (cf. [15]). The mean of the modal flight speeds, of three to five sequences for each individual within the species, was taken as the preferred flight speed of that species and used for setting the wind tunnel speeds during the tethered Wind tunnel experiments for each individual were performed within a day and typically over the course of 4-5 h. The wing condition of the moths was monitored continuously throughout the experimental session, and the moths were fed periodically with a honey solution (honey and water, 1 : 10).…”

Section: The Hawkmothsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most cases, the wakes of animals incorporate several distinctly different vortex elements, such as wingtip and wing root vortices (e.g. craneflies [18]; bees [15]; bats [19]; flycatchers [11]; swifts [20] and blackcaps [21]). Using PIV, it is possible to capture these vortex elements as they are shed behind the flying insect.…”

Section: Simplifying the Complexity Of Animal Wakesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies of animal wakes have shown the presence of wing root vortices and they seem to form either as an effect of the body disrupting the downwash profile or by petiolation of the wing planform. Two striking examples are the bumble-bee [15] and the cranefly [17]: in both cases, the left and right wings generate almost completely independent wakes (cf. [25]).…”

Section: Span Efficiency In Relation To Liftmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regardless of the mechanistic reason for this mismatch, it is a costly way to fly because, in effect, it means that by the time the downwash distribution has reached its most efficient configuration, the majority of the lift has already been generated. On the other hand, it may be that, similar to bumble-bees, it is beneficial for moths to retain aerodynamic independence between the two wing pairs for control authority and to facilitate manoeuvring [15].…”

Section: Span Efficiency In Relation To Liftmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Span efficiency in hawkmoths

Henningsson

Bomphrey

2013

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Flight in animals is the result of aerodynamic forces generated as flight muscles drive the wings through air. Aerial performance is therefore limited by the efficiency with which momentum is imparted to the air, a property that can be measured using modern techniques. We measured the induced flow fields around six hawkmoth species flying tethered in a wind tunnel to assess span efficiency, e i , and from these measurements, determined the morphological and kinematic characters that predict efficient flight. The species were selected to represent a range in wingspan from 40 to 110 mm (2.75 times) and in mass from 0.2 to 1.5 g (7.5 times) but they were similar in their overall shape and their ecology. From high spatio-temporal resolution quantitative wake images, we extracted time-resolved downwash distributions behind the hawkmoths, calculating instantaneous values of e i throughout the wingbeat cycle as well as multi-wingbeat averages. Span efficiency correlated positively with normalized lift and negatively with advance ratio. Average span efficiencies for the moths ranged from 0.31 to 0.60 showing that the standard generic value of 0.83 used in previous studies of animal flight is not a suitable approximation of aerodynamic performance in insects.

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Section: The Hawkmothsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Simplifying the Complexity Of Animal Wakesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Span Efficiency In Relation To Liftmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Span Efficiency In Relation To Liftmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Span efficiency in hawkmoths

Henningsson

Bomphrey

2013

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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“…Thus, we find it necessary to further develop the approach by setting the circulation strength along the wing to an elliptic distribution which from lifting line theory is known to produce a constant downwash velocity distribution [15,16]. Since lift and hence bound circulation falls to zero at the inboard edge of the wing and there is no carryover of lift to the opposite wing [9,17,18] [19]. This optimum chord distribution is shown in Fig.…”

Section: Lettermentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimum hovering wing planform

Nabawy

Crowther

2016

Journal of Theoretical Biology

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Smoke visualization of free-flying bumblebees indicates independent leading-edge vortices on each wing pair

Cited by 27 publications

References 0 publications

Span efficiency in hawkmoths

Span efficiency in hawkmoths

Optimum hovering wing planform

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