Wing Design in Flies: Properties and Aerodynamic Function

Krishna, Swathi; Cho, Moonsung; Wehmann, Henja-Niniane; Engels, Thomas; Lehmann, Fritz-Olaf

doi:10.3390/insects11080466

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 163 publications

(230 reference statements)

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“…The majority of large insects have solid wings that consist of thin, impermeable membranes reinforced with veins [13]. The significance of three-dimensional wing shape and outline on lift-generating leading edge vortices (LEVs) has been extensively addressed in the literature [14][15][16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight efficiency is a key to diverse wing morphologies in small insects

Engels

Kolomenskiy

Lehmann

2021

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Insect wings are hybrid structures that are typically composed of veins and solid membranes. In some of the smallest flying insects, however, the wing membrane is replaced by hair-like bristles attached to a solid root. Bristles and membranous wing surfaces coexist in small but not in large insect species. There is no satisfying explanation for this finding as aerodynamic force production is always smaller in bristled than solid wings. This computational study suggests that the diversity of wing structure in small insects results from aerodynamic efficiency rather than from the requirements to produce elevated forces for flight. The tested wings vary from fully membranous to sparsely bristled and were flapped around a wing root with lift- and drag-based wing kinematic patterns and at different Reynolds numbers ( Re ). The results show that the decrease in aerodynamic efficiency with decreasing surface solidity is significantly smaller at Re = 4 than Re = 57. A replacement of wing membrane by bristles thus causes less change in energetic costs for flight in small compared to large insects. As a consequence, small insects may fly with bristled and solid wing surfaces at similar efficacy, while larger insects must use membranous wings for an efficient production of flight forces. The above findings are significant for the biological fitness and dispersal of insects that fly at elevated energy expenditures.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight efficiency is a key to diverse wing morphologies in small insects

Engels

Kolomenskiy

Lehmann

2021

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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“…Flight capacity is essential to most insects, impacting essential physiological activities such as foraging, risk avoidance and courtship. [1][2][3] Wing development is regulated by genes typically associated with the developmental signaling network such as wingless (Wg), hedgehog (Hh), decapentaplegic (Dpp), vestigial (Vg), and spalt (Sal). [4][5][6][7][8] Moreover, Wg and Hh are part of the Wnt 9 and Hh signaling pathways, 10 respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional characterization of five developmental signaling network genes in the white‐backed planthopper: Potential application for pest management

Liu

Guo

Long

et al. 2023

Pest Management Science

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BACKGROUND The white‐backed planthopper (WBPH, Sogatella furcifera) is a major rice pest that exhibits condition dependent wing dimorphisms – a macropterous (long wing) form and a brachypterous (short wing) form. Although, the gene cascade that regulates wing development and dimorphic differentiation has been largely defined, the utility of these genes as targets for pest control has yet to be fully explored. RESULTS Five genes typically associated with the developmental signaling network, armadillo (arm), apterous A (apA), scalloped (sd), dachs (d), and yorkie (yki) were identified from the WBPH genome and their roles in wing development assessed following RNA interference (RNAi)‐mediated knockdown. At 5 days‐post injection, transcript levels for all five targets were substantially decreased compared with the dsGFP control group. Among the treatment groups, those injected with dsSfarm had the most pronounced effects on transcript reduction, mortality (95 ± 3%), and incidence (45 ± 3%) of wing deformities, whereas those injected with dsSfyki had the lowest incidence (6.7 ± 4%). To assess the utility of topical RNAi for Sfarm, we used a spray‐based approach that complexed a large‐scale, bacteria‐based double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA) expression pipeline with star polycation (SPc) nanoparticles. Rice seedlings infested with third and fourth instar nymphs were sprayed with SPc–dsRNA formulations and RNAi phenotypic effects were assessed over time. At 2 days post‐spray, Sfarm transcript levels decreased by 86 ± 9.5% compared with dsGFP groups, and the subsequent incidences of mortality and wing defects were elevated in the treatment group. CONCLUSIONS This study characterized five genes in the WBPH developmental signaling cascade, assessed their impact on survival and wing development via RNAi, and developed a nanoparticle‐dsRNA spray approach for potential field control of WBPH. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

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“…Insect wings have various shapes and venation patterns 1 , 2 . Many studies have aimed to quantify the link between the morphology of the wings and flight performance of insects, including the migratory behaviour 2 – 4 , aerodynamic force generation 5 – 9 , territory defence and resource holding 10 , mating behaviour 11 , manoeuvrability and agility 8 , 12 and damage tolerance 7 , 13 . An essential step in this kind of research is to quantify the shape of the wings, their subdomains (known as cells), and the location of the junctions (also known as joints, vein joints or micro joints).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An image based application in Matlab for automated modelling and morphological analysis of insect wings

Eshghi

Fatemeh²,

Shaghayegh³

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Despite extensive research on the biomechanics of insect wings over the past years, direct mechanical measurements on sensitive wing specimens remain very challenging. This is especially true for examining delicate museum specimens. This has made the finite element method popular in studies of wing biomechanics. Considering the complexities of insect wings, developing a wing model is usually error-prone and time-consuming. Hence, numerical studies in this area have often accompanied oversimplified models. Here we address this challenge by developing a new tool for fast, precise modelling of insect wings. This application, called WingGram, uses computer vision to detect the boundaries of wings and wing cells from a 2D image. The app can be used to develop wing models that include complex venations, corrugations and camber. WingGram can extract geometric features of the wings, including dimensions of the wing domain and subdomains and the location of vein junctions. Allowing researchers to simply model wings with a variety of forms, shapes and sizes, our application can facilitate studies of insect wing morphology and biomechanics. Being an open-access resource, WingGram has a unique application to expand how scientists, educators, and industry professionals analyse insect wings and similar shell structures in other fields, such as aerospace.

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Wing Design in Flies: Properties and Aerodynamic Function

Cited by 24 publications

References 163 publications

Flight efficiency is a key to diverse wing morphologies in small insects

Flight efficiency is a key to diverse wing morphologies in small insects

Functional characterization of five developmental signaling network genes in the white‐backed planthopper: Potential application for pest management

An image based application in Matlab for automated modelling and morphological analysis of insect wings

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