Videos of Machaeropterus deliciosus making a "tick-tick-ting" sound through wing motion, from the Science website.

This wing motion also provided lift to balance any difference in weight and buoyancy when the CycloCrane was not in the forward flight mode.

Treated insects exhibit leg tremors, rapid wing motion, stylet withdrawal (aphids), disoriented movement, paralysis and death.

But the X-ray photographs showed that the timing and mechanics of the wishbone's motions did not seem to aid wing motion.

First of all, it converts mainly heat energy into flapping wing motion in the Entomopter.

Its dam herded it, with wing motion and encouraging chirps, toward a nearby dragonet that was holding a flopping fishling for the hatchling to devour.

With deceptively slow wing motions, it rode the currents of air, and seemed in no great hurry.

Laughing to herself, Nicole intensified her wing motion and rose above all the trees.

"I don't like the sound of our wing motion," Paul said.

"Early in our project, we looked at slow motion movies of birds in level equilibrium flight in order to gain some insight on nature's wing motions," Mr. DeLaurier wrote in a report on the project.