scholarly journals Assessing Insect Flight Behavior in the Laboratory: A Primer on Flight Mill Methodology and What Can Be Learned

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven E Naranjo
Keyword(s):  
Insect Flight ◽  
Flight Behavior ◽  
Flight Mill

scholarly journals Design and Validation of Computerized Flight-Testing Systems with Controlled Atmosphere for Studying Flight Behavior of Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier)

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2112
Author(s):  
Maged Mohammed ◽  
Hamadttu El-Shafie ◽  
Nashi Alqahtani
Keyword(s):  
Flight Tunnel ◽  
Flight Behavior ◽  
Processing Unit ◽  
Controlled Atmosphere ◽  
Rhynchophorus Ferrugineus ◽  
Data Logging ◽  
Red Palm Weevil ◽  
Flight Testing ◽  
Flight Mill ◽  
The Mean

Understanding the flight characteristics of insect pests is essential for designing effective strategies and programs for their management. In this study, we designed, constructed, and validated the performance of modern flight-testing systems (flight mill and flight tunnel) for studying the flight behavior of red palm weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) under a controlled atmosphere. The flight-testing mill consisted of a flight mill, a testing chamber with an automatically controlled microclimate, and a data logging and processing unit. The data logging and processing unit consisted of a USB digital oscilloscope connected with a laptop. We used MATLAB 2020A to implement a graphical user interface (GUI) for real-time sampling and data processing. The flight-testing tunnel was fitted with a horizontal video camera to photograph the insects during flight. The program of Image-Pro plus V 10.0.8 was used for image processing and numerical data analysis to determine weevil tracking. The mean flight speed of RPW was 82.12 ± 8.5 m/min, and the RPW stopped flying at the temperature of 20 °C. The RPW flight speed in the flight tunnel was slightly higher than that on the flight mill. The angular deceleration was 0.797 rad/s2, and the centripetal force was 0.0203 N when a RPW tethered to the end of the rotating arm. The calculated moment of inertia of the RPW mass and the flight mill's rotating components was 9.521 × 10−3 N m2. The minimum thrust force needed to rotate the flight mill was 1.98 × 10−3 N. Therefore, the minimum power required to rotate the flight mill with the mean revolution per min of 58.02 rpm was approximately 2.589 × 10−3 W. The designed flight-testing systems and their applied software proved productive and useful tools in unveiling essential flight characteristics of test insects in the laboratory.

scholarly journals Flight Mill Experiments and Computer Simulations Indicate Islands Recruit More Capable Flyers of Moths

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-xuan Zheng ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Bo-ya Dai ◽  
Zheng Li ◽  
Qi-run Huo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Insect Flight ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
External Factors ◽  
Simulation Experiments ◽  
Flight Mill ◽  
Tethered Flight ◽  
The Family ◽  
Moth Species ◽  
Number Of Individuals

Understanding the traits related to species colonization and invasion, is a key question for both pest management and evolution. One of the key components is flight, which has been measured for a number of insect species through radar and tethered flight mill systems, but a general understanding of insect flight at a community level is lacking. In this study, we used flight mill experiments to quantify flight abilities of moth species, and simulation experiments to study which moths in mainland China have the potential for cross-island dispersal. We found that moths from superfamily Geometroidea (family Geometridae) have the weakest flight ability among the seven Lepidoptera superfamilies, which is characterized by the shortest longest single flight (LSF), the shortest time corresponding to the longest single flight (TLSF) (timecorrespondingtothelongestsingleflight), the lowest total distance flown (TDF), and the lowest average speed during the flight (VTDF). Surprisingly, the family Pyralidae (superfamily Pyraloidea) has the highest flight endurance of all 186 species of 12 families in this study, which is unexpected, given its small size and morphological traits yet it shows the longest LSF and TLSF. The comparison between species common to mainland and islands shows that flight distance (LSF) may be more important for species spread than flight speed. The results of mainland-island simulations show that when P(LSF>CD) (the proportion of individuals whose LSF is greater than the closest distance (CD) between mainland and island to the total number of individuals in the population) is less than 0.004, it is difficult for moth species to disperse to across islands without relying on external factors such as airflow. Over extended periods, with the immigration of species with strong flight abilities, islands are more likely to recruit species with stronger flight abilities.

scholarly journals The aerodynamics of flight in an insect flight-mill

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. e0186441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gal Ribak ◽  
Shay Barkan ◽  
Victoria Soroker
Keyword(s):  
Insect Flight ◽  
Flight Mill

scholarly journals Speed Control and Force-Vectoring of Blue Bottle Flies in a Magnetically-Levitated Flight Mill

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shih-Jung Hsu ◽  
Neel Thakur ◽  
Bo Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Flight Control ◽  
Insect Flight ◽  
Aerodynamic Force ◽  
Speed Control ◽  
The Body ◽  
Flight Mill ◽  
Wing Motion ◽  
Force Magnitude ◽  
Magnetically Levitated ◽  
And Control

Flies fly at a broad range of speeds and produce sophisticated aerial maneuvers with precisely controlled wing movements. Remarkably, only subtle changes in wing motion are used by flies to produce aerial maneuvers, resulting in little directional tilt of aerodynamic force vector relative to the body. Therefore, it is often considered that flies fly according to a helicopter model and control speed mainly via force-vectoring enabled primarily by body-pitch change. Here we examine the speed control of blue bottle flies using a magnetically-levitated (MAGLEV) flight mill, as they fly at different body pitch and with different augmented aerodynamic damping. We identify wing kinematic contributors to the changes of estimated aerodynamic force through testing two force-vectoring models. Results show that in addition to body pitch, flies also use a collection of wing kinematic variables to control both force magnitude and direction, the roles of which are analogous to those of throttle, collective and cyclic pitch of helicopters. Our results also suggest that the MAGLEV flight mill system can be potentially used to study the roles of visual and mechanosensory feedback in insect flight control.

Flight Behavior and Performance ofRhodnius pallescens(Hemiptera: Reduviidae) on a Tethered Flight Mill

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1010-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren A. Castro ◽  
Jennifer K. Peterson ◽  
Azael Saldaña ◽  
Milixa Y. Perea ◽  
Jose E. Calzada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flight Behavior ◽  
Flight Mill ◽  
Tethered Flight ◽  
And Performance

scholarly journals FMRFa receptor stimulated Ca2+ signals alter the activity of flight modulating central dopaminergic neurons in Drosophila melanogaster

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preethi Ravi ◽  
Deepti Trivedi ◽  
Gaiti Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Dopaminergic Neurons ◽  
Neuronal Excitability ◽  
Insect Flight ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Flight Behavior ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Membrane Excitability ◽  
Release Channel

AbstractNeuropeptide signaling influences animal behavior by modulating neuronal activity and thus altering circuit dynamics. Insect flight is a key innate behavior that very likely requires robust neuromodulation. Cellular and molecular components that help modulate flight behavior are therefore of interest and require investigation. In a genetic RNAi screen for G-protein coupled receptors that regulate flight bout durations, we earlier identified several receptors, including the receptor for the neuropeptide FMRFa (FMRFaR). To further investigate modulation of insect flight by FMRFa we generated CRISPR-Cas9 mutants in the gene encoding the Drosophila FMRFaR. The mutants exhibit significant flight deficits with a focus in dopaminergic cells. Expression of a receptor specific RNAi in adult central dopaminergic neurons resulted in progressive loss of sustained flight. Further, genetic and cellular assays demonstrated that FMRFaR stimulates intracellular calcium signaling through the IP3R and helps maintain neuronal excitability in a subset of dopaminergic neurons for positive modulation of flight bout durations.Author summaryNeuropeptides play an important role in modulating neuronal properties such as excitability and synaptic strength and thereby influence innate behavioral outputs. In flying insects, neuromodulation of flight has been primarily attributed to monoamines. In this study, we have used the genetically amenable fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster to identify a neuropeptide receptor that is required in adults to modulate flight behavior. We show from both knockdown and knockout studies that the neuropeptide receptor, FMRFaR, present on a few central dopaminergic neurons, modulates the duration of flight bouts. Overexpression of putative downstream molecules, the IP3R, an intracellular Ca2+-release channel, and CaMKII, a protein kinase, significantly rescue the flight deficits induced by knockdown of the FMRFaR. Our data support the idea that FMRFaR and CaMKII help maintain optimal membrane excitability of adult dopaminergic neurons required to sustain longer durations of flight bouts. We speculate that the ability to maintain longer flight bouts in natural conditions enhances the individual’s capacity to search and reach food sources as well as find sites suitable for egg laying.

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