Functional Asymmetry In Fly’s Wing Veins as Pipe Network

Abstract

The wing veins of insects are blood-transporting pipes that form a network. The wing vein network of a Drosophila fly has asymmetry created by one vein named V14. The advantage of the asymmetry in the fly’s wing veins was discussed via pipe network calculation, the Hardy-Cross method. Our numerical simulation revealed V14 influences blood flow in the veins on the posterior region of the wing, and it contributes to a decrease in the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the network required to flow the blood. This result suggests that the asymmetric wing vein network is a strategy for less energy consumption in pumping blood into the wing veins of the fly.