The nervous system is also associated with the muscular contractions that lift an insect off the ground as well as sustained flight. When nerve impulses are generated by the immediate environment stimuli reach the brain, instructions are ordered from the brain to the wing muscles for an appropriate response. Muscle contractions in insects that flap their wings gradually normally respond to impulses from the nervous system.
The involvement of the nervous system in determining the frequency of the wing beat thereby sets the maximum speed at which flight occurs (Engel, 2005). This is attributed to the time taken by the neurons to generate an action potential for conduction of stimuli as well as the subsequent delocalization of the electrical impulse to the brain. The time is taken by the neuron to regenerate the action potential, therefore, determining the peak velocity at which wing beat can be attained. This is because the nervous impulses coordinate the periodic muscular contractions necessary for propelling the wings of an insect.
