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Flight orientation of swarming Locusta migratoria
Author(s) -
BAKER PETER S.,
GEWECKE MICHAEL,
COOTER RICHARD J.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
physiological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0307-6962
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00706.x
Subject(s) - swarming (honey bee) , locust , orientation (vector space) , compass , wing , biology , swarm behaviour , geodesy , track (disk drive) , ceiling (cloud) , physics , geometry , meteorology , ecology , mathematics , geology , engineering , mechanical engineering , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
. High‐speed films of four swarms of Locusta migratoria in Australia and one swarm in New Guinea were analysed. Measurements were made of the locust's body orientation and flight track in the horizontal relative to wind direction, and of height and speed of flight. In all swarms mean course angle and mean track angle in relation to wind direction were significantly different from zero, although all indicated an upwind direction. No evidence was found for orientation to compass direction or sun. Considerable fluctuations in flight direction were measured in some individuals as they traversed the field of view. A modification of Kennedy's (1951) theory is adopted to explain the angled orientations to wind. It is suggested that this could be the result of an optical orientation mechanism.