The forewing of a black cicada Cryptotympana atrata (Hemiptera, Homoptera: Cicadidae): Microscopic structures and mechanical properties

Abstract

Insects in nature flap their wings to generate lift force and driving torque to adjust their attitude and control stability. An insect wing is a biomaterial composed of flexible membranes and tough veins. In this paper, we study the microscopic structures and mechanical properties of the forewing of the black cicada, Cryptotympana atrata.The thickness of the wing membranes and the diameter of veins varied from the wing root to the tip. The thickness of the wing membranes ranged from 6.0 to 29.9 μm, and the diameter of the wing veins decreased in a gradient from the wing root to the tip, demonstrating that the forewing of the black cicada is a nonuniform biomaterial.The elastic modulus of the membrane near the wing root ranged from 4.45 to 5.03 GPa, which is comparable to that of some industrial membranes. The microstructure of the wing vein exhibited a hollow tubular structure with flocculent structure inside.The "fresh" sample stored more water than the "dry" sample, resulting in a significant difference in the elastic modulus between the fresh and dried veins. The different membrane thicknesses and elastic moduli of the wing veins near the root and tip resulted in varied degrees of deformation on both sides of the flexion line of the forewing during twisting. The measurements of the forewing of the cicada may serve as a guide for selecting airfoil materials for the bionic flapping-wing aircraft and promote the design and manufacture of more durable bionic wings in the future.

Structural stabilization of honeybee wings based on heterogeneous stiffness

“…with y 1a , y 2a , and y 3a being the 3D angular amplitude (y 1a = 1311, y 2a = 61, y 3a = À181), r the distance between the wing base and the cross section, t the current time, o the angular frequency (o = 2pf, f = 197 Hz), and j 1 , j 2 , and j 3 the phase shifts of the wing rotation based on the cinematography results of Dudley et al 37,38 The velocities of the wing cross section were determined by the time derivatives of eqn ( 5)- (7).…”

“…Many elements have been demonstrated to influence the mechanical properties of wings, including microstructure, [6][7][8][9] cuticle composition, [10][11][12] structural thickness, 6,13 and water content. 14,15 In Coleoptera insects, the elastic modulus of the wing membrane is controlled by the microstructure represented by striation on the membrane.…”

A study on the aerodynamic behaviors learned from microscopy imaging of beetle corrugated hindwing

“…Additionally, when transferring from hovering to forward flight, the effect of inertial deformation appeared to be greater than aeroelastic deformation with regard to the instantaneous wing shape (Bergou et al, 2007; Hussein et al, 2019). However, with regard to FWMAV design in comparison to insect functional morphology of flight, many things still have to be cleared up, such as stall at small angles of attack and the detrimental high wind resistance (Deng et al, 2019; Li et al, 2022; Lian et al, 2003; Liu et al, 2022). Beetles (Coleoptera) are a unique group of insects with deployable hindwings that can be folded under the elytra, which probably reduce wing damage when not flying (Sun et al, 2019).…”