Formulae for insect wingbeat frequency
School of Mathematical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic, Australia
Abstract
A formula is developed connecting the wingbeat frequency of insects with their masses and wing areas. It is derived first theoretically, using dimensional analysis, and then it is compared with published measurements. The formula discovered involves two parameters which dimensional analysis alone cannot determine. One of these is evaluated using one among many proposed semi-empirical relationships (the only one that stands scrutiny); the other by fitting a published dataset. It is found that the resulting equation, applying to insects in general, accords well with observation, and indeed is very close to being optimal (in a sense to be defined).
Keywords: dimensional analysis, insect flight, allometry
Correspondence: michael.deakin@sci.monash.edu.au
Received: 30 August 2008 | Accepted: 10 October 2008 | Published: 8 July 2010
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 10, Number 96
Deakin MAB. 2010. Formulae for insect wingbeat frequency. Journal of Insect Science 10:96, available online: insectscience.org/10.96
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