Have you ever wondered how mosquitoes fly? (Yes, those pests that bother you at summer BBQs.) Well if you have, you are in luck. A group of scientists from Oxford have analyzed every move these tiny creatures make. The group used high speed cameras and computer simulations to capture the insects’ movements. If you have ever looked closely at a mosquito you would notice that their wings are quite unusual when compared to other winged animals. A mosquitoes’ wings are long and narrow. Their wing morphology leads to unique flight patterns; before this study their flight mechanisms were not known. It had always been a struggle to adequately capture their speedy wing movement.
Mosquitoes' wings move
at a rate of 800 beats per second with a very low stroke amplitude. Their
wing movement and stroke amplitude are unlike any other insects. From this new study, it was discovered that
the mosquitoes use two aerodynamic mechanisms called
trailing edge-vortices and rotational drag. The trailing-edge vortex can be
described as the instance when mosquitoes orient their wings to match up with
the fluid flow from the previous wing movement. Their wings also rotate after
each beat. This enables them to utilize the wind created from their previous
beats. These newly found aerodynamic mechanisms help scientists understand their
unique wing morphology. Understanding the mechanisms behind mosquitoes’ flight
could also help develop new small aerodynamic technologies as well as getting to the bottom of why mosquitoes are such good carriers of disease.
Sources:
Article: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170330115241.htm
Video: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/watch-weird-aerodynamics-behind-mosquito-flight
Picture: https://myglassoflemonwater.wordpress.com/category/introspection/page/5/
Posted by Leah DeLorenzo (7)
It is amazing that mosquitos move their wings at 800 beats per minute! The long and narrow shape of their wings makes for interesting aerodynamic techniques. I wonder if this wing movement is responsible for the annoying buzzing noise mosquitos make.
ReplyDeletePosted by Sierra Tyrol
You are exactly right. Mosquitoes' wing movement is the cause of their annoying buzzing. Since the wings move at such a high frequency, the frequency is audible to the human ear. It may be odd to think that such a tiny insect can produce that sound, but its wings are to thank.
DeletePosted by Leah DeLorenzo
I never thought about how mosquitos fly! It just shows you how much there is to research in the world. I thought it was really interesting that they can beat their wings 800 times a second. I wonder what the rate of a hummingbird is and if those researchers used the same techniques. I was just wondering what a slow stroke amplitude is? Is what makes them flap their wings so fast? Great post!
ReplyDeletePosted by: Kate Masterson (Group C)
It would be interesting to see how the flight mechanisms of a mosquito connect to how well they tend to carry disease. I wonder if there is more research out there about this? Did you come across any?
ReplyDeleteI also found it fascinating that mosquitos beat their wings 800 beats per second. How does this differ from other insects?
Another thing I found very interesting is that they use the wind created by each beat by rotating their wings. There is so much to learn about such a tiny little insect.
Posted by Anna Potorski
I did not come across any specifics about how their flight mechanism correlates to their great ability to carry disease, but it would be something very interesting to look into further. The speed of a mosquito wing is much faster than most insects. For comparison a ladybug beats its wings at a rate of 80 beats a second. While a dragon fly beats its wings 300 times a second. The midge just beats out the mosquito with a rate of 1000 beats per second.
DeletePosted by Leah DeLorenzo
That is a very interesting mechanism, although like many other insects mosquitos are able to fly, the method that they use to manipulate the wings in order to generate lift is very different. This bio-mechanical mechanism generates lift to be produced nearly perpendicular to the motion of the wings. Unlike most insects or birds I am able to think of, where lift is created inline with the flapping of wings. I had assumed flying in insects (as well as birds) developed this ability though convergent evolution, while one might still classify this as such, there are interesting changes/differences the mosquito has that has allowed it to solve to problems associated with flight.
ReplyDeletePosted by Logan Lassin (b)
I had originally thought that hummingbird flapping speeds were impressive (some coming in at 100 beats per second), but this is on a whole other scale of fast. It's hard to imagine in your head what 800 beats/second actually means practically. It is also interesting that the amplitude of their flaps is low, because although amplitude and frequency are not necessarily directly related to one another (from a Physics perspective) i wonder if this means that it allows them to beat their wings faster since they aren't spending more time moving them up and down.
ReplyDeletePosted by Peter Makhoul (C)
This was a really interesting read! Like Kate said, I have never put much thought into how mosquitoes fly. There is so much knowledge already discovered and yet to be discovered it is truly amazing. I found it interesting how mosquitoes actually do fly, as their wings do look so unique. Thank you for the new information!
ReplyDeletePosted by Jenna Lansbury