Abstract
The ability to track odor plumes to their source (food, mate, etc.) is key to the survival of many insects. During this odor-guided navigation, flapping wings could actively draw odorants to the antennae to enhance olfactory sensitivity, but it is unclear if improving olfactory function comes at a cost to aerodynamic performance. Here, we computationally quantify the odor plume features around a fruit fly in forward flight and confirm that the antenna is well positioned to receive a significant increase of odor mass flux (peak 1.8 times), induced by wing flapping, vertically from below the body but not horizontally. This anisotropic odor spatial sampling may have important implications for behavior and the algorithm during plume tracking. Further analysis also suggests that, because both aerodynamic and olfactory functions are indispensable during odor-guided navigation, the wing shape and size may be a balance between the two functions.
Highlights
IntroductionThe ability to track odor plumes to their source (food, mate, etc.) is key to the survival of many insects
The ability to track odor plumes to their source is key to the survival of many insects
Our simulated fruit fly is prescribed with realistic flapping kinematics (Supplementary Fig. 1) according to the literature[22,23] at a frequency of 213 Hz and a forward speed of 0.94 m/s, with a corresponding Reynolds number of 173, which describes the ratio of inertial to viscous forces in a fluid; and reduced frequency (k) of 0.65, which is the ratio of wing-tip velocity over forward velocity
Summary
The ability to track odor plumes to their source (food, mate, etc.) is key to the survival of many insects During this odor-guided navigation, flapping wings could actively draw odorants to the antennae to enhance olfactory sensitivity, but it is unclear if improving olfactory function comes at a cost to aerodynamic performance. We computationally quantify the odor plume features around a fruit fly in forward flight and confirm that the antenna is well positioned to receive a significant increase of odor mass flux (peak 1.8 times), induced by wing flapping, vertically from below the body but not horizontally. Olfactory sensilla are located predominantly on the antennae and maxillary pulp, both near the tip of the head, potentially avoiding the disturbance created by wing flapping Since both aerodynamic and olfactory functions are indispensable during an odor-guided navigation, there has to be mechanism to balance both its aerodynamic and olfactory needs. The present effort explores the role of flapping wings in enhancing the olfactory stimulus and offers new insights into key regions of flapping wings that may differentially impact aerodynamic forces and antenna odor mass fluxes during odor-tracking flight
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