Measurement of differential pressure on a butterfly wing

This paper reports on direct measurement of differential pressure on a butterfly wing during free flight. Differential pressure was measured using a micro-fabricated sensor. A piezo-resistive cantilever was used as a differential pressure sensor. The sensor was 1.0 mm × 1.0 mm × 0.3 mm in size and 0.7 mg in weight so that it did not interfere with wing motion. By attaching the sensor to the center of a butterfly forewing with a flexible wiring, the differential pressure on the wing was measured during ¿no flight flapping¿ and ¿taking off¿.