The rules and patterns of insect aerial combat

Insects use flight as far more than a means of getting from A to B. Flight creates an aeiral theatre for interaction, whether between species or among members of the same species. For example, a male dragonfly must hunt for food, fend off rival males, and pursue evasive females in order to reproduce, tasks that all revolve around chasing fast-moving targets. Despite the remarkable diversity of insect species and their aerial behaviours, common patterns emerge in how they exploit speed and manoeuvrability to achieve these goals. Simple geometric guidance laws can describe these flight trajectories with surprising accuracy, revealing shared strategies that underpin insect aerial combat.