How do the wings of insects like the housefly and dragonfly enable them to fly?

Answer 1

They flap them. Honestly, that is a tough one. Science for years held that bumble bees should not be able to fly. Recently, supercomputers finally showed, simulated, how they do. Unless you are doing some type of research or study, stick to easier questions. The study of fluid dynamics will help you understand, but only help. Like I said, that is a tough subject.

Answer 2

When it comes to fluilds the explanations tend to change from solid. But, in most of the case it is more appropriate way but not always and this is the one of them so instead of going in detail with high pressure and low pressure simply take following case in the end fluids and solids are only different state of matter.

Try to jump from standing position. I know you can do that and if I ask how did you jumped you will simply reply that I pushed the earth below me downwords so by the newton's third law the surface below me pushed me in the oposite direction with the same force so thus I was able to jump. Same is the case with the air (and water when it comes to swim). Birds/insects pushes air downwords by flapping their wings and they get push upwards, But to continue flying the upward push should be equal to (and at the time of take of: push should be greater than) the weight of the bird/insect and the push should be continues.

Answer 3

Science never once held that a bee could not fly - a drunk scientist at a party said once that he did not know how to work out the dynamics of it.

Insects fly because the downward flap of their wings creats a low pressure area above them, and the higher pressure below them pushes them up.

The upwards flap of the wing behaves differently because the wings hing so that they twist to the vertical. Air then passes them easily.

Answer 4

Jack is right: it is a difficult question to answer in words.
The movement of the wings has been analysed and decomposed, not only with computers, but also with high speed cameras.
In short, the wing uses the vacuum created "before" them, rotate flat in the stream, moves forward, rotate perpendicular to the flow, then pushes to the air behind. (A kind of 8 shape movement).