Ladybird wings unfold their secrets

Collapsible structures have many applications, particularly in spacecraft, where the ability to fold structures like antennae and solar panels into a small volume for launching but still have it unfold once deployed into a strong, rigid structure is invaluable. Nature, as so often, provides inspiration, and insects are the undoubted masters of this trick, with lightweight wings that can collapse and fold into small spaces and yet unfold into structures stiff and strong enough to support and propel the animals in flight.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have now uncovered how ladybirds (locally known as ladybugs) stow their wings. These particular common beetles were chosen because of the speed with which they can unfold and deploy their wings.

Like most beetles, ladybirds have two sets of wings. The forward set, called elytra, are a hard material and act as protection for the more delicate underling rear set which the insect uses for flying. The Tokyo team, led by Professor Kazuya Saito of the university’s Institute of Industrial Science, wanted to investigate the roles played by unusually complex origami-like folds in the wings, thick veins in comparison to their size, and up-and-down motions of the insect’s abdomen that had been observed previously.