Page 34 - Design in Nature

FOLDING WING OF THE HONEYBEE

Tertiary auxiliary
piece of chitin

Many insects can fold their wings.
When folded, the wings are easily
manoeuvred by the help of auxiliary
parts on their tips. The U.S. Air Force
has produced E6B Intruder aircraft Folding
with folding wings after being Position
inspired by this example. While bees
and flies are able to fold their entire
wings onto themselves, the E6B can
only fold one half of its wing over the
other.

Resilin
The wing joint is comprised of a special protein, called
resilin, which has tremendous flexibility. In laboratories, chemical
engineers are working to reproduce this chemical, which
demonstrates properties far superior to natural or artificial
rubber. Resilin is a substance capable of absorbing the force
applied to it as well as releasing the entire energy back once that
force is lifted. From this point of view, the efficiency of resilin
reaches the very high value of 96%. This way, approximately 85%
of the energy used to lift the wing is stored and reused while
lowering it. The chest walls and muscles are also built to help
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this phenomenon.