Determining the correlation between dragonfly wing morphology and flying maneuverability

Flight is an alternative form of locomotion with advantages that include increased ability to traverse long distances and readily escape prey. Only those animals with proper machinery are capable of flight. Wings, the machinery that enables flight, vary greatly among the wide array of animals that employ flight for locomotory purposes. Considering that form often follows function, wings are likely structured depending upon the specific flight patterns and behaviors of a particular species. Such structure must be adequate enough to effectively and efficiently create the lift and thrust necessary for flight performance. Therefore, one can expect great divergence in wing structure given the diversity of flight behavior seen within the animal kingdom. To determine how variation in wing morphology contributes to flight function, we studied dragonflies (Odonata), a group of highly maneuverable and acrobatic fliers. We assessed the wing size, morphology of the leading edge, and body dimensions of 39 dragonfly and 3 damselfly species to test how they correlated with one another. We hypothesized that these parameters would align with the known Odonata wing structure as it relates to the maximization of flight maneuverability. Relationships including wing dimensions compared to one another, body dimensions of an individual, cell shapes formed via venation throughout the wing, and leading edge diameter, were fairly consistent across the species under consideration. Cell height was the key component contributing to leading edge structure and increasing the height of the wing as a whole.