Diversity of flight control strategies in insects: lessons from hawkmoths

Abstract

Flying is a characteristic ability in insects, and the study on insect flight has mainly focused on several model insects, desert locusts, files and hawkmoths. Among them, the desert locusts are the most successful models for finding a fundamental principle in animal locomotion, central pattern generator. The blowflies and fruit flies are the excellent models for sensory-motor control as agile flyers, and the latter have become more powerful model organisms in neuroscience by the recent advances in genetic methods. The hawkmoths are large, powerful and agile flyers, and have a lot of intermediate features between locusts and flies, which are useful characteristics considering the diversity of insect flight mechanisms. In this review, I introduced our recent progress in the study of hawkmoth flight, focusing on proprioceptive feedback, flight muscle control during free flight and thoracic deformation by muscle contraction, which are closely coupled together during flapping flight. I also introduced some recent unique findings in hawkmoth flight reported by other groups, which shows diversity of flight control in insect species. Finally, I discuss future direction for the integrative understanding of insect flight mechanism.