Abstract
Remarkable flight performance is key to the survival of adult Odonata. They integrate varied three-dimensional architectures and kinematics of the wings, unsteady aerodynamics, and sensory feedback control in order to achieve agile flight. Therefore, a diverse range of approaches are necessary to understand their flight strategy comprehensively. Recently, new data have been presented in several key areas in Odonata such as measurement of surface topographies, computational fluid dynamic analyses, quantitative flow visualisation using particle image velocimetry, and optical tracking of free flight trajectories in laboratory environments. In this paper, we briefly review those findings alongside more recent studies that have advanced our understanding of the flight mechanics of Odonata still further.
Highlights
Flight performance of Odonata greatly affects their survivorship because it directly influences darting hunts, hawking flights, prey selection, interception and capture, predator evasion, and fuel economy during short commutes or long migration journeys
We have briefly reviewed the current state-of-the-art of research on the biomechanics of odonatan flight
Computational analyses revealed that wing deformation is passively controlled by the hierarchical architecture of odonatan wings, but its effect on flight performance is yet to be resolved
Summary
Flight performance of Odonata greatly affects their survivorship because it directly influences darting hunts, hawking flights, prey selection, interception and capture, predator evasion, and fuel economy during short commutes or long migration journeys. While these elements function to control the wing deformation under aerodynamic loads passively during flight, collision with obstacles may lead to excessive loading and structural damage. In addition to the wing deformation controlled passively through fluid-structure interactions and inertial bending, the three-dimensional shape and arrangement of the four wings are important for the flight performance of Odonata.
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