A preliminary investigation on wing morphology, flight patterns, and flight heights of selected odonates
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9445.17.11.27854-27862Keywords:
Aspect ratio, damselflies, dragonflies, Epiprocta, flight behaviour, geometric morphometrics, Nodal Index, Pterostigmatal Index, wing shape, wing venation, ZygopteraAbstract
Wing shape and its individual structural components are a major contributor to the flight performance of odonates. Two essential components of wing structure are the nodus and the pterostigma. Our study showed that the position of the nodus (expressed as the nodal index) in the forewings and hindwings of dragonflies show subtle, but functionally important differences, whereas on a broader scale, dragonflies and damselflies show characteristic differences in accordance with their specific flight requirements. The position of the pterostigma expressed as the pterostigmatal index was observed to be optimized close to the wing tip across all odonates and unlike the nodus, there were no characteristic differences between dragonflies and damselflies in this regard. In addition to describing wing shape using aspect ratio, our study presents a geometric morphometric analysis of wing shape across flying and perching behaviour and across flight heights of odonates. It was found that wing shape does not significantly differ between fliers and perchers. However, certain species namely Crocothemis servilia, Tholymis tillarga, and Gynacantha bayadera showed notable deviations in wing shape. These deviations indicate that the dichotomous classification of odonates into perchers and fliers is too broad, possibly overlooking the nuanced flight patterns adopted by these insects. On the other hand, a significant association was found between wing shape and flight heights of odonates. These results suggest that behavioural factors may influence odonate wing shape, while also highlighting the importance of wing shape in flight efficiency. Consequently, the flight performance of biomimetic devices modelled after odonate flight, may be enhanced by optimizing wing shape in accordance with the heights above ground at which these devices are intended to operate.
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