Talk summary

Insect flight is extraordinarily complex, with many of its most remarkable details concealed from the human eye due to the insects’ small size and fast movements. Their characteristic wing movements are generated by the insect flight motor, an intricate mechanical system whose workings have long proved difficult to observe and understand.

In this talk, Dr Walker will show how he uses a range of high-speed imaging techniques to slow down this hidden world, revealing both internal and external movements that would otherwise be impossible to see. We will follow the movements of wings and bodies during free flight, examine how beating wings interact with the air, and look inside the insect thorax to discover how muscles and tiny mechanical structures power and control each wingbeat.

From agile hoverflies and manoeuvring blowflies to the exceptionally rapid wingbeats of mosquitoes, we will uncover the shared principles and remarkable diversity of insect flight.

Speaker

Dr Simon Walker, Associate Professor in Comparative Biomechanics, University of Leeds

Dr Simon Walker is an Associate Professor in Comparative Biomechanics at the University of Leeds. He studied Biological Sciences at the University of Oxford, where he also completed a DPhil in Zoology under the supervision of Prof Adrian Thomas and Prof Graham Taylor, before undertaking postdoctoral research.