title: Investigation of span-chordwise bending anisotropy of honeybee forewings.
abstract: In this study, the spanwise and chordwise bending stiffnessEIof honeybee forewings were measured by a cantilevered bending test. The test results indicate that the spanwiseEIof the forewing is two orders of magnitude larger than the chordwiseEIThree structural aspects result in this span-chordwise bending anisotropy: the distribution of resilin patches, the corrugation along the span and the leading edge vein of the venation. It was found that flexion lines formed by resilin patches revealed through fluorescence microscopy promoted the chordwise bending of the forewing during flapping flight. Furthermore, the corrugation of the wing and leading edge veins of the venation, revealed by micro-computed tomography, determines the relatively greater spanwiseEIof the forewing. The span-chordwise anisotropy exerts positive structural and aerodynamic influences on the wing. In summary, this study potentially assists researchers in understanding the bending characteristics of insect wings and might be an important reference for the design and manufacture of bio-inspired wings for flapping micro aerial vehicles.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: JianGuo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China huilanren@bit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: HuiLan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8020-8298
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: PengFei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: Bending stiffness; Corrugation; Honeybee forewing; Resilin; Venation