How a Hornet Insect Controls Itself During Flight

400 Times Per Second

• One important thing to understand about hornets, wasps and other flying insects is that they flap their wings at an incredibly fast rate. For most, it is measured in the hundreds of flaps per second. This incredible amount of flapping is the main reason that hornets and other insects are able to maneuver in such amazing ways, and also why they are able to so effortlessly avoid bug swatters.

Twisting and Turning

• Insects do not, however, just flap their wings. Rather, they create a vortex of air along the front edge of their wing, and they do this by twisting their wings mid-flight. On the down stroke of the wing, it is in a normal orientation, and goes both down and from rear to front, on an angle. The primary purpose is to provide upward lift. On the upstroke, however, the wing flips over, and goes up, as well as toward the rear of the insect, providing forward momentum. The wing then flips over and does another down stroke.

Slight Pitch Changes

• Since an insect such as a hornet flaps its wings hundreds of times per second, very little change in the flapping of the wing is actually required to produce drastic changes in flight direction. Slight changes to the vertical angle at which wings are flapped, for instance, can alter the forward momentum, or lack thereof, of the hornet. Similarly, orienting one wing more forward than the other will produce a turn. Even though the turning momentum produced by one flap of the wing may be slight, the hundreds of flaps per second add up to what is, from a human perspective, a rapid change in direction.

Learning From Insects

• The amazing aerodynamic properties of the flight of insects such as hornets has taught scientists and engineers a great deal about alternative possibilities for producing flight. The development of micro air vehicles has benefited greatly from the study of insect flight. Micro air vehicles are very small, roughly six inches in size, and are developed to provide reconnaissance in confined spaces where it is not practical to send a human. In such situations, insects provide the best flight model.