In a study published Thursday (April 10) in the journal Science, researchers document the amazing aerial acrobatic skills of tiny fruit flies.
Researchers at the University of Washington used video cameras to track the flies in flight and discovered that this extremely small insect with a brain about the size of the smallest grain of sand can perform complex aerial maneuvers to evade predators, similar to the moves of some of the world's most advanced fighter jets, Reuters reports.
The scientists synchronized three high-speed cameras operating at 7,500 frames a second in an effort to learn how these tiny insects make themselves so elusive.
They were able to track the wing and body movements of the sesame-seed-sized fruit fly Drosophila hydei inside a cylindrical flight chamber as they were shown images of hungry predators.
According to the researchers, the flies executed impressive escape responses, such as instantaneously rolling their bodes, similar to a fighter jet performing a banked turn to evade an enemy. While executing the banked turn, the flies even rolled over on their sides, almost flying upside down.
"The generate a rather precise banked turn, just like an aircraft pilot would, to roll the body and generate a force to take them away from the threat," said University of Washington biology professor and lead author Michael Dickinson in the Reuters report.
"This happens very quickly," Dickinson said. "And it's generated with remarkably subtle changes in wing motion. We were pretty astonished by how little they have to do with their wing motion to generate these very precise maneuvers."
Dickinson said he suspects these maneuvers are the result of ancient reflexes, saying that soon after insects evolved flight, along came other insects who wanted to eat them.
"Circuits for detecting predators are very, very ancient. But this one in just being implemented in a high-performance flight machine," observed Dickinson, adding that the flies manage it with a "brain the size of a salt grain."
Source : http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/science-shows-fruit-flies-perform-fighter-jet-stunts/
