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Butterflies fly using efficient propulsive clap mechanism owing to flexible wings

Johansson, L. C. LU and Henningsson, P. LU (2021) In Journal of the Royal Society, Interface 18(174).
Abstract

Butterflies look like no other flying animal, with unusually short, broad and large wings relative to their body size. Previous studies have suggested butterflies use several unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms to boost force production with upstroke wing clap being a prominent feature. When the wings clap together at the end of upstroke the air between the wings is pressed out, creating a jet, pushing the animal in the opposite direction. Although viewed, for the last 50 years, as a crucial mechanism in insect flight, quantitative aerodynamic measurements of the clap in freely flying animals are lacking. Using quantitative flow measurements behind freely flying butterflies during take-off and a mechanical clapper, we provide aerodynamic... (More)

Butterflies look like no other flying animal, with unusually short, broad and large wings relative to their body size. Previous studies have suggested butterflies use several unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms to boost force production with upstroke wing clap being a prominent feature. When the wings clap together at the end of upstroke the air between the wings is pressed out, creating a jet, pushing the animal in the opposite direction. Although viewed, for the last 50 years, as a crucial mechanism in insect flight, quantitative aerodynamic measurements of the clap in freely flying animals are lacking. Using quantitative flow measurements behind freely flying butterflies during take-off and a mechanical clapper, we provide aerodynamic performance estimates for the wing clap. We show that flexible butterfly wings, forming a cupped shape during the upstroke and clap, thrust the butterfly forwards, while the downstroke is used for weight support. We further show that flexible wings dramatically increase the useful impulse (+22%) and efficiency (+28%) of the clap compared to rigid wings. Combined, our results suggest butterflies evolved a highly effective clap, which provides a mechanistic hypothesis for their unique wing morphology. Furthermore, our findings could aid the design of man-made flapping drones, boosting propulsive performance.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
aerodynamics, animal flight, butterflies, clap and fling, unsteady aerodynamics, wing morphology
in
Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
volume
18
issue
174
article number
20200854
publisher
The Royal Society of Canada
external identifiers
  • scopus:85100325655
  • pmid:33468023
ISSN
1742-5662
DOI
10.1098/rsif.2020.0854
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
39de965f-ff1e-48d2-9c95-a4478340a8d0
date added to LUP
2021-02-12 11:30:23
date last changed
2024-06-27 08:26:08
@article{39de965f-ff1e-48d2-9c95-a4478340a8d0,
  abstract     = {{<p>Butterflies look like no other flying animal, with unusually short, broad and large wings relative to their body size. Previous studies have suggested butterflies use several unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms to boost force production with upstroke wing clap being a prominent feature. When the wings clap together at the end of upstroke the air between the wings is pressed out, creating a jet, pushing the animal in the opposite direction. Although viewed, for the last 50 years, as a crucial mechanism in insect flight, quantitative aerodynamic measurements of the clap in freely flying animals are lacking. Using quantitative flow measurements behind freely flying butterflies during take-off and a mechanical clapper, we provide aerodynamic performance estimates for the wing clap. We show that flexible butterfly wings, forming a cupped shape during the upstroke and clap, thrust the butterfly forwards, while the downstroke is used for weight support. We further show that flexible wings dramatically increase the useful impulse (+22%) and efficiency (+28%) of the clap compared to rigid wings. Combined, our results suggest butterflies evolved a highly effective clap, which provides a mechanistic hypothesis for their unique wing morphology. Furthermore, our findings could aid the design of man-made flapping drones, boosting propulsive performance.</p>}},
  author       = {{Johansson, L. C. and Henningsson, P.}},
  issn         = {{1742-5662}},
  keywords     = {{aerodynamics; animal flight; butterflies; clap and fling; unsteady aerodynamics; wing morphology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{174}},
  publisher    = {{The Royal Society of Canada}},
  series       = {{Journal of the Royal Society, Interface}},
  title        = {{Butterflies fly using efficient propulsive clap mechanism owing to flexible wings}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2020.0854}},
  doi          = {{10.1098/rsif.2020.0854}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}