Meeting Abstract
Insects demonstrate a broad diversity of wing morphology and different flight styles demanded by their environment. Among other things, the wing-vein arrangement determines the structural properties of the wing and therefore affects how a wing elastically deforms during flapping flight in a manner that may be species specific. Since insects lack intrinsic wing muscles, the wing’s elastic deformability may be important for fine tuning the aerodynamic performance of the wings of insects adapted for different flight styles. The relationship between the arrangement of specific wing veins, wing deformability and the adaptation of insect-wings for various flight styles are poorly understood. We examined the wing vein arrangement of 20 scarab-beetle species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) differing in ecology and flight style using geometric morphometric analyses corrected for phylogenetic relatedness. Wing deformations during free-flight were directly compared between flower-chafers (Protaetia cuprea) and dung-beetles (Scarabaeus puncticollis), representing two extremes in ecology and divergence of wing vein morphology. Sub-families within the Scarabaeidae primarily differed in the vein arrangement at the distal leading-edge and at the proximal trailing-edge of the wing. Despite similar flapping kinematics, flower-chafer wings displayed larger deformation and different distribution of the deformation compared to the dung-beetles. These inter-species differences in the deformation magnitude and distribution could lead to different flight performance that matches environmental demands.
