Impact of cell shape in hierarchically structured plant surfaces on the attachment of male Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata)

• Bettina Prüm,
• Robin Seidel,
• Holger Florian Bohn and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 57–64, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.7

• . Independent of superimposed microstructures we found that convex and papillate epidermal cell shapes slightly enhance the attachment ability of the beetles. Thus, in plant surfaces, cell shape and superimposed microstructuring yield contrary effects on the attachment of the Colorado potato beetle, with convex

• , claws generally improve grip [14][15] depending on the dimensions of the surface asperities and the insect’s claws [15][16]. If the diameter of the claw tip is smaller than the surface roughness, the claws can hook into the surface irregularities and the beetle thereby increases attachment forces. As in

• of the beetle. Similar to the findings of Voigt et al. [13], our results support the principal role of adhesive pads in attachment to both smooth and rough substrates. On petals of Rosa hybrid Floribunda cv. “Sarabande” traction-force measurements showed a distinctively higher variation towards

The effect of surface anisotropy in the slippery zone of Nepenthes alata pitchers on beetle attachment

• Elena V. Gorb and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 302–310, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.35

• in two types of experiments, where surface samples of (1) intact pitchers, (2) chemically de-waxed pitchers, and (3) their polymer replicas were placed horizontally. Beetle traction forces were measured when they walked on test surfaces in either an upward (towards the peristome) or downward (towards

• epidermal cells due to the drying process. The tarsus of the C. septempunctata beetle ends distally with two ventrally curved claws having tip diameters of 3.7 ± 0.64 μm (N = 10, Figure 3). Attachment pads belong to the hairy type of locomotory organs in insects. Pads and types of adhesive setae in this

• beetle species have been previously described in detail by [30]. Traction forces of beetles on different surface samples On intact pitcher surfaces bearing both lunate cells and epicuticular crystalline waxes, traction forces of insects were drastically reduced compared to those measured on a glass

Infrared receptors in pyrophilous (“fire loving”) insects as model for new un-cooled infrared sensors

• David Klocke,
• Anke Schmitz,
• Helmut Soltner,
• Herbert Bousack and
• Helmut Schmitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 186–197, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.22

• sensory organs, which can be found on the thorax or on the abdomen. In the pyrophilous beetle Melanophila acuminata infrared receptors and their associated sensory neurons are derived from mechanoreceptors [1]. Unlike other mechanosensory neurons, IR sensitive neurons directly send their information to be

• Buprestidae) can be classified as pyrophilous: About a dozen species of the genus Melanophila, which are distributed nearly all over the world except for Australia, and the ”fire-beetle” Merimna atrata, which is endemic to Australia [3][4]. Despite the fact that Melanophila and Merimna show almost the same

• buprestid genera are equipped with antennal smoke receptors and thoracic or abdominal IR organs [6][7][8][9]. Another pyrophilous beetle can also be found in Australia, i.e., the “little ash beetle” Acanthocnemus nigricans (family Acanthocnemidae). This inconspicuous beetle is only 4 mm long and highly