Jumping force measurement of a butterfly during take-off

Abstract

We measured the jumping forces of butterflies Idea leuconoe during take-off. We fabricated a force plate that was composed of three MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) force sensors and a flat plate. The three MEMS sensors were placed under the flat plate. The size of the MEMS force sensors was 7 mm×7 mm. The size of the plate was 45 mm in diameter. The resolution of the force plate was 0.20 mN. The results suggested that the maximum jumping force was 1.4 times larger on average than the gravity force. Furthermore, we revealed that the impulse of the jumping force was twice larger than the impulse of the wing aerodynamic force.