Mystery of Mosquito Flight
The mosquito is a troublesome and dangerous insect. Their bites itch and can carry dangerous diseases, like malaria, Zika virus and yellow fever. Recently, researchers from Britain and Japan discovered how mosquitoes fly.
Mosquito wings are small and have an uncommon shape. So, how is their flight possible? The team of scientists from Britain and Japan solved the mystery. They used high-speed cameras and computer images to understand the mechanics of how the insect moves its wings to stay in the air.
They set up eight super-high speed cameras that take 10,000 images each second. Simon Walker, a researcher at the University of Oxford, explains that normally at least two cameras are needed to record an insect, so they've got enough views of an insect. With two camera views they can then take any point on an insect and calculate its 3-D coordinates (三维坐标).
Mosquitoes can spread diseases. The insect has two antennae, or tall, thin organs on its head that it uses to feel things. But its antennae and six legs make it difficult to take clear images of the wing movements. The extra cameras let the researchers see that the mosquito's wings move eight hundred times each second. That is four times faster than many insects of a similar size.
Mosquitoes fly by moving their wings in several different directions. The thin top edges of their wings move forward first and then they change direction and move down. The movement looks as if the wings are drawing the number eight. Walker says that existing unmanned flying devices do not work very well outside because wind can affect their flight.
"Insects, on the other hand, deal really well with even quite windy conditions. So understanding how they can do this is going to be advantageous to us." These researchers say that understanding how mosquitoes fly might help find ways to stop them from spreading diseases.
A. Because of this, it is hard to believe that they are able to fly.
B. Mosquitoes evolved from other insects about 226 million years ago.
C. So, the team needed to use eight cameras to view the wings from many directions.
D. Researchers at the University of Oxford took images of mosquito wing movements.
E. Many measures have been tried for mosquito control, for example, getting rid of breeding places.
F. This knowledge, they say, help find ways to stop mosquitoes from spreading diseases in the future.
G. The research team believes the mosquitoes' wing movements could help inventors design new flying devices.
