How do dragonfly wings work? A brief guide to functional roles of wing structural components

Insect wings have no flight muscles, except those situated in the thorax. However, they continuously respond to forces acting on them during flight. This ability is achieved by the specialised design of the wings and plays a key role in their aerodynamic performance. Dragonfly (Anisoptera) wings represent an extreme example of this automatic shape control among flying insects. The functionality of the wings results from complex interactions between several structural components of which they are composed.