Whirligig beetle uses lift-based thrust for fastest insect swimming

Yukun Sun; Jena Shields; Chris Roh

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.008

Whirligig beetle uses lift-based thrust for fastest insect swimming

Curr Biol. 2024 Jan 8;34(1):R12-R13. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.008.

Authors

Yukun Sun¹, Jena Shields², Chris Roh³

Affiliations

¹ Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Electronic address: ys655@cornell.edu.
² Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Electronic address: jls627@cornell.edu.
³ Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Electronic address: cr296@cornell.edu.

PMID: 38194918
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.008

Abstract

Whirligig beetles (Gyrinidae) are the fastest-swimming insects. The one-centimeter long aquatic beetle can reach a peak acceleration of 100 m s^-2 and a top velocity of 100 body lengths per second. Previous studies have suggested that drag-based thrust by their hind legs is responsible for their propulsion¹^,²^,³^,⁴. For the drag-based thrust to be effective, however, the leg stroke velocity must exceed the swimming velocity. Therefore, for fast-swimming whirligigs, it is unlikely that the drag-based thrust is the main source of acceleration⁵. Here, we demonstrate that lift-based thrust enables the rapid swimming of the whirligigs.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Coleoptera*
Insecta
Swimming