AIMS Lab

The AIMS lab works with cockroaches, stick insects, longhorn beetles, hawkmoths, and butterflies, and will be excited to expand our library of insects that use their antennae in unusual and unexpected ways. 
We invite citizens to send us photos and short videos of unusual antennae or antennae being used in unusual ways, which will be posted on our website, with attribution to the photographer. These images will help us more broadly understand and interpret the principles of insect antennae that we discover in our laboratory.

Figure 2. Insect heads and intact antennae:  

a-c) Insect heads with intact antennae: a) American cockroach, b) painted lady butterfly, c) Carolina hawkmoth. d–f) Antennae: d) American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), e) painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), and f) Carolina hawk moth (Manduca sexta). Figures 1&2 were adapted from the AIMS lab publications: Donley, G., Sun, Y., Pass, G., Adler, P. H., Beard, C. E., Owens, J., & Kornev, K. G. (2022). Insect antennae: Coupling blood pressure with cuticle deformation to control movement. Acta Biomaterialia 147, 102-119.

Insect antennae play a crucial role in insect life 

Insect antennae play a crucial role in insect life, as they are more than just “feelers”; they define how insects perceive their environment. Antennae are equipped with multiple sensors called sensilla, which they use to detect chemical signals, such as odors and pheromones, that provide information about mates, food, and potential dangers. Insects also use sensilla on their antennae to learn about air humidity and temperature. Flying insects such as mosquitoes, midges, and hawkmoths that flap their wings 50 to 1,000 times per second navigate and maneuver by using their antennae as ears or gyroscopes. Walking insects, such as cockroaches or stick insects, use their sensilla as touch receptors to navigate the terrain by selecting pathways with their antennae. 
The AIMS lab researches the physical mechanisms and materials properties that enable antennae to control insect flight and navigate complex terrain. 
The size and form of antennae vary from species to species, and therefore, their function and performance are also expected to vary. Bridging antennal structure and materials properties with their function is important for developing fiber-based autonomous sensors and robots. 
The fundamental structure of antennae is consistent among adult insects. The antenna is divided into three segments: scape, pedicel, and flagellum (Fig. 1). The flagellum often consists of tubular divisions called flagellomeres. The engineering challenge for explaining antennal movement is that muscles are located only in the scape and pedicel; the flagellum is muscle-free! Yet, insects can easily flex and loop their antennae while exploring the environment. For example, when cockroaches groom their antenna, they fold it on itself, or when fighting for females, some male longhorned beetles lash one another with their antennae.

AIMS Lab Outreach

We will be happy to share the AIMS lab's excitement about the insect world with schoolteachers and their students. We aim to inspire them by showing how curiosity can lead to scientific discovery.  A series of available presentations for students of different ages aims to show that one can find science around us, actively exploring and enjoying insect life. Please contact: 

Presentation Contact 
Kate Gaiser

NSF #2422802 Hydraulics of insect antennae enabling actuation and control

This project investigates the biomechanical and fluid-mechanical mechanisms that insects use to move their antennae. Antennae are sensing organs that provide insects with astonishing abilities to navigate in air and water and on land or to identify a mate, a predator, or another member of their own species. All of these tasks require a millisecond-fast mechanical response by the antennae to environmental perturbations. Insects express a broad range of antennal forms, with diameters spanning orders of magnitude from submicrons to millimeters, and a large range of length-to-diameter ratios, all of which pose significant engineering challenges for insects to control their antennal movements. To understand the wide-ranging abilities of flying and nonflying insects to respond to environmental perturbations, a diverse team of researchers will investigate the structure, function, and biomechanics of antennae. Hovering and nonhovering hawkmoths and flying and nonflying cockroaches will be used to provide insights into the role of antennae in species diversification. The results will provide strategies for designing novel bio-inspired fiber-based micro-actuators, sensors, and micro-robotics that can take advantage of the mechanisms insects use to manipulate their antennae. The knowledge gained and the techniques, instruments, and materials developed will benefit biological and engineering sciences. The team will nurture a new educational culture integrating biology and engineering to prepare a new generation of scientists, engineers, and teachers. Participating in public outreach activities related to the project, students will lead citizen-science activities that provide insects, such as hawk moths, for study and will share results on a dedicated webpage. VIEW PROJECT DETAILS >>