Abstract. Knowledge of wing orientation and deformation in free flying insects is necessary for a complete aerodynamic analysis. It is important to determine the body coordinate of an insect because the kinematic features are described based on the body coordinate. A reflection beam method has been developed for measuring the body vector of a free-flying bumblebee with large angle range and high accuracy. The method uses a piece of small cover glass attached to the bumblebee for reflecting the laser beam, and a trapezoid screen for measuring the direction of the reflected beam, allowing us to determine the body vector based on the direction of the incident beam and that of the reflected beam. The method has been successfully used to measure the body vector of a free flight bumblebee.

Keywords: insect, body coordinate, kinematic parameters, bumblebee

Print publication: Issue 11 (November 2001)
Received 22 May 2001, in final form 16 August 2001, accepted for publication 31 August 2001
Published 9 October 2001