title: Wind alters landing dynamics in bumblebees.
abstract: Landing is an important but understudied behavior that flying animals must perform constantly. In still air, insects decelerate smoothly prior to landing by employing the relatively simple strategy of maintaining a constant rate of image expansion during their approach. However, it is unclear whether insects employ this strategy when faced with challenging flight environments. Here, we tested the effects of wind on bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) landing on flowers. We find that bees' approach paths to flowers shift from multidirectional in still air to unidirectional in wind, regardless of flower orientation. In addition, bees landing in a 3.5 m s-1headwind do not decelerate smoothly, but rather maintain a high flight speed until contact, resulting in higher peak decelerations upon impact. These findings suggest that wind has a strong influence on insect landing behavior and performance, with important implications for the design of micro aerial vehicles and the ecomechanics of insect flight.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA 19081, USA Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Concord Field Station, Bedford, MA 01730, USA.
authors.forename: Jeremy J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Concord Field Station, Bedford, MA 01730, USA james.crall@gmail.com.
authors.forename: James D
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8981-3782
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Crall
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Stacey A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Combes
keywords: Animal flight; Bee; Collision avoidance; Insect flight; Optic flow; Physiological ecology; Pollinator