Abstract
THE higher Diptera, emprising such insects as the house-fly, the blow-flies and the hover-flies, have remarkable powers of controlled flight. The studies of P. S. J. Hollick1 on the aerodynamics of dipterous flight mewed that these insects are inherently stable in which, alterations in attitude being connected automatically by a change in the amplitude of the wing beat. There is some suggestion also of inherent stability in the rolling plane, but nothing to indicate stability in yaw. In general aerodynamical terms, the fly probably shows what is known as ‘spiral instability'. The lower Diptera, such as the gnats and daddy-long-legs, have long thin abdomens, which must increase their inherent stability. Inherent stability, however, is a definite hindrance to the making of rapid turns. In the higher forms the abdomen becomes short, and aids to flight in the form of organs of equilibrium become more efficient.
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References
Hollick, F. S. J., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., B, 230, 356 (1940).
Fraenkel, G., and Pringle, J. W. S., Nature, 141, 919 (1938).
Nageotte, J., C.R. Acad. Sci., Paris, 215, 509 (1942).
Nageotte, J., Arch. Zoo. exp. gén., 83, Notes et Rev. 99 (1944).
Pringle, J. W. S., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., B, 233, 347 (1948).
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Control of Equilibrium in the Flying Insect. Nature 163, 74–75 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/163074a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/163074a0