Fruit flies beat their wings at different rates and stroke angles: Study
A new experiment conducted on fruit flies has revealed that the tiny insects are master aviators.
The scientists from Cornell University in New York conducted the experiment to gauge how the flies manage to fly perfectly even though their small bodies and fast-beating wings make them inherently unstable.
Tiny magnets were attached to the flies in order to hamper or upset their flight. The tiny magnet was glued to each fly a short magnetic pulse was applied that forced them to roll like out-of-control aircraft.
Each magnet glued to its body consisted of a tiny 1.5 - 2mm long carbon steel pin that did not interfere with its wing motion and added around 20% to its weight. Around 15 flies were released into a transparent box attached to a pair of 'Helmholtz coils', electromagnets that allow precise control of magnetic fields.
The flies were filmed using cameras operating at 8,000 frames per second whenever magnetic field was manipulated.
However, the tiny insects did not stay out of control for long and applied lightning-fast corrective responses, which put them back in charge in 23 milliseconds. The scientists noted that the flies were able to return to normal flight within three or four wing beats after they turned off their tractor beam.
The researchers concluded that fruit flies have an unprecedented impressive speed will allows them to beat their wings at different rates and stroke angles.
Dr Tsevi Beatus wrote: "Fast video shows flies correct perturbations up to 100% within 30 (plus or minus seven) milliseconds by applying a stroke-amplitude asymmetry. "Flies respond to roll perturbations within five milliseconds, making this correction reflex one of the fastest in the animal kingdom". The study results were described in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.