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Updated: Mar 23, 2026

A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects

A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects

Published on: December 10, 2015

Whiteflies stabilize their take-off with closed wings.

Gal Ribak¹, Eyal Dafni², Dan Gerling²

¹Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel gribak@post.tau.ac.il.

The Journal of Experimental Biology

|April 6, 2016

Summary

Tiny whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) use their closed wings to stabilize mid-air rotation after jumping. This aerodynamic mechanism prevents somersaulting and prepares them for flight before wings fully deploy.

Keywords:

Flight stability Jumping Pitch Tumbling Wing deployment

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Area of Science:

* Entomology
* Biomechanics
* Aerodynamics

Background:

* Flying animals often use leg push-off for aerial transition.
* Whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) exhibit unique take-off behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

* To investigate the stabilization mechanism in whitefly take-off.
* To understand how whiteflies control rotation during aerial transition.

Main Methods:

* Analysis of take-off jumps in whiteflies with closed wings.
* Biomechanical modeling of insect body rotation.
* Experiments with insects having removed wings.

Main Results:

* Whiteflies initiate pitch rotation upon jumping.
* Closed wings stabilize rotation within 11ms, before wing spreading.
* Aerodynamic forces from backward-positioned wings create a pitching moment.
* Wing deployment further enhances pitching moment for flight angle adjustment.

Conclusions:

* Bemisia tabaci possesses an inherent aerodynamic stabilization mechanism.
* Wing shape and posterior wing area are crucial for preventing somersaulting.
* This mechanism allows rapid recovery and prepares for flapping flight.