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Earwig wings are highly foldable structures that lack internal muscles. The behaviour and shape changes of the wings during flight are yet unknown. We assume that they meet a great structural challenge to control the occurring deformations and prevent the wing from collapsing. At the folding structures especially, the wing could easily yield to the pressure. Detailed microscopy studies reveal adaptions in the structure and material which are not relevant for folding purposes. The wing is parted into two structurally different areas with, for example, a different trend or stiffness of the wing veins. The storage of stiff or more flexible material shows critical areas which undergo great changes or stress during flight. We verified this with high-speed video recordings. These reveal the extent of the occurring deformations and their locations, and support our assumptions. The video recordings reveal a dynamical change of a concave flexion line. In the static unfolded state, this flexion line blocks a folding line, so that the wing stays unfolded. However, during flight it extends and blocks a second critical folding line and prevents the wing from collapsing. With these results, more insight in passive wing control, especially within high foldable structures, is gained.

Simultaneous optimisation of earwig hindwings for flight and folding