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Blinding One Eye
My student, Ramsey Yunan, and I performed experiments on butterflies by blinding one of their eyes with paint and releasing to see their flight.
We have found they fly in circles. If you blind the right eye of the butterfly, then it will fly in circle toward left. We have confirmed the opposite by blinding the left eye.
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Insect Wings
Pictures of insect wings are shown here.
Insect wings are three-dimensional membrane structures stiffened by the network of veins. Closer look at the three-dimensional structure of the insect wings helps us reveal the secret of insect flight.
Folding
Pictures of folding patterns are shown here.
Folded sheets can be used for flapping wings for micro aerial vehicles. Various folding patterns are being studied to provide the structural integrity to the wing design while keeping the weight minimum.