Maximum force capacity of legs of a fruit fly during landing motion

Abstract

This paper reports on measurement of landing force of a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) using a MEMS force plate. By measuring the landing force of fruit flies, we found that the maximum force correlated with the landing velocity, which varied from several to 80 times larger than its weight. The experimental result suggested that there was the threshold value of the maximum landing force per weight for legs, which determined that a fruit fly lands with contacting with six legs or colliding bodily to the ground according to the landing velocity. The threshold value was thought to be the maximum force capacity of legs during landing motion.