Controlled banked turns in coleopteran flight measured by a miniature wireless inertial measurement unit

The mechanisms and principles of insect flight have long been investigated by researchers working on micro and nano air vehicles (MAVs/NAVs). However, studies of insect flight maneuvers require high speed filming and high spatial resolution in a small experimental space, or the tethering of the insect to a fixed place. Under such artificial conditions, the insects may deviate its flying behavior from that of regular flight. In this study, we mounted a tiny wireless system, or 'backpack', on live beetles (Mecynorrhina torquata; length 62 ± 8 mm; mass 7.4 ± 1.3 g) freely flying in a large laboratory space. The backpack contains a micro inertial measurement unit (IMU) that was especially designed and manufactured for this purpose. Owing to the small mass (∼1.30 g) and dimensions (∼2.3 cm²) of the backpack and the high accuracy of the IMU, we could remotely record the beetle in free flight. The free flight data revealed a strong linear correlation between the roll angle and yaw angular velocity. The strength of the correlation was quantified by the correlation coefficients and mean values. The change in roll angle preceded the change in yaw angular velocity. Moreover, there were frequent fluctuations in the roll angular velocity, which were uncorrelated with the yaw angular velocity. Apart from the strong correlation, these findings imply that Mecynorrhina torquata actively manipulates its roll rotation without coupling to the yaw rotation.