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Flugsteuerung durch nicht-fibrilläre Flugmuskeln bei der Schmeißfliege Calliphora

Flight control by non-fibrillar (direct) flight muscles in the blowfly Calliphora

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Summary

  1. 1.

    Action potentials of non-fibrillar flight muscles were recorded from Calliphra flying in tethered flight under a rotating cylindrical pattern. Certain muscles are active only when the fly tries to turn in a determined direction. Therefore these muscles are assumed to control yawing.

  2. 2.

    There is an almost constant phase relationship between the action potentials of the basalar muscles and wingbeat frequency.

  3. 3.

    Electrical stimulation of the non-fibrillar flight muscles results in a smooth tetanus at frequencies above ca. 60 cyc/sec. Since these muscles fire at a considerably higher rate in the flying insect, they probably function via a tonic contraction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoologisches Institut der Universität Düsseldorf, Deutschland

    Gerhard Heide

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  1. Gerhard Heide
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Gefördert von der Fritz-Thyssen-Stiftung und der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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Heide, G. Flugsteuerung durch nicht-fibrilläre Flugmuskeln bei der Schmeißfliege Calliphora . Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie 59, 456–460 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00365972

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00365972

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