Close encounters among flying locusts produce wing-beat coupling.
Any flying animal leaves behind a wake of turbulent air. Thus, a closely tailing neighbor may be buffeted by complex aerodynamic forces. We report here that pairs of tethered locusts (Locusta migratoria) flying in tandem in a wind tunnel, couple their wing-beats to one another.Wind-receptive hairs on the rear partner's head provide the main sensory input that produces the coupling. The phase angle of coupling depends upon the distance between the individuals. By phase-coupling to a forward neighbor's wake, a locust may turn this turbulence to its own aerodynamic advantage. Moreover, within a large swarm local groups of locusts may fly in a functionally integrated manner.
Kutsch
W
W
Department of Cell and Animal Biology, and Charles E.Smith Lab., Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
Camhi
J
J
Sumbre
G
G
D000818:Animals; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D048188:Locusta migratoria / Q000502:physiology*; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000502:physiology*