How flies flip around on take-off from an upside- down position

Date:
July 15, 2020
Source:
CNRS
Summary:
Flies are able to right themselves very quickly when taking off
from an upside-down position. Scientists studying this phenomenon
discovered the surprising way these insects begin by turning their
bodies before their heads on take-off.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Flies are able to right themselves very quickly when taking off from an
upside- down position. Scientists from the CNRS and from The Institute
of Movement Science (ISM) at Aix-Marseille Universite' studying this
phenomenon discovered the surprising way these insects begin by turning
their bodies before their heads on take-off. The research will be
published on 15 July 2020 in the Journal of Experimental Biology.


==========================================================================
With its legs pointing up and its wings down towards the floor, a fly
can casually rest upside-down on a ceiling, but on take-off, it will
right itself very quickly. Researchers from the CNRS and Aix-Marseille Universite' looked at how the insect flips itself around when taking
off. With the aid of a high- speed camera, the scientists discovered that, contrary to cats which land on their feet by first turning their heads,
flies begin by turning their bodies.

The insect reorients itself within six wing beats at a speed of
10,000DEG/s, or approximately 30 revolutions per second. The whole
movement takes approximately 0.05 s with the head turning 0.016 s later
than the body.

According to the scientists, during take-off flies flip their bodies
before their heads due to an inherent stabilisation reflex. Small
stabilisers near the wings function as a type of gyroscope. Humans
have a similar reflex which kicks in when they continue to stare at
something despite turning their bodies around. In the study, the team
included modelling which suggested that, during reorientation, the insect stabilises its visual system before resuming normal flight. The research
aims to elucidate how flies orient themselves relative to a vertical
axis. The scientists will now further their research to investigate the
effect of light on a fly's orientation.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by CNRS. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Anna Verbe, Le'andre P. Varennes, Jean-Louis Vercher, Ste'phane
Viollet.

How do hoverflies use their righting reflex? The Journal
of Experimental Biology, 2020; 223 (13): jeb215327 DOI:
10.1242/jeb.215327 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200715123141.htm

--- up 1 hour, 54 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1337:3/111)