Influence of ambient humidity on the attachment ability of ladybird beetles (Coccinella septempunctata)

• Lars Heepe,
• Jonas O. Wolff and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1322–1329, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.123

• ) humidity-dependent material properties of insect cuticle and β-keratin (main constituent of gecko setae) [41][42][43][44]. In geckos, the effect of a RH on viscoelastic properties of the setal shaft was shown [13]. It was argued that with an increasing humidity the viscoelastic bulk energy dissipation

Functional diversity of resilin in Arthropoda

• Jan Michels,
• Esther Appel and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1241–1259, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.115

• resembling resilin. In such cases, it is conceivable that the respective exoskeleton material consists either of a protein with properties that are similar to those of resilin or of a mixture of resilin and other proteins. For exoskeleton structures with such properties, the term ‘transitional cuticle’ was

• and membranous areas of insect wings [21][22][24], the food-pump of reduviid bugs [51], tymbal sound production organs of cicadas [52][53] and moths [54], abdominal cuticle of honey ant workers [55] and termite queens [56], the fulcral arms of the poison apparatus of ants [57] and the tendons of

• dragonfly flight muscles and basal wing joints of locusts (as already mentioned above) [5]. In the following, some selected representative structures and systems with large proportions of resilin are highlighted, and their functions are described. Arthrodial membranes Arthrodial membranes are cuticle areas

Physical principles of fluid-mediated insect attachment - Shouldn’t insects slip?

• Jan-Henning Dirks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1160–1166, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.127

• . These terminal elements can vary in shape and size, even within one tarsus or between the sexes of one species [23]. Recently it has been shown that in beetles the setae show a decreasing stiffness of the cuticle towards the tip of the setae [24]. Similar “hairy” structures can be found in many other

Insect attachment on crystalline bioinspired wax surfaces formed by alkanes of varying chain lengths

• Elena Gorb,
• Sandro Böhm,
• Nadine Jacky,
• Louis-Philippe Maier,
• Kirstin Dening,
• Sasha Pechook,
• Boaz Pokroy and
• Stanislav Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1031–1041, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.116

• some types of trichomes, acting mainly at the macroscopic level, hinder the interlocking of insect claws. Additionally, plant-produced wet films on the surface, microscopic cuticular folds and epicuticular (deposited onto the plant cuticle) wax crystals reduce the adhesion of insect attachment pads

• (reviews [11][12]). In the present study, we consider the effect of wax crystal dimension on insect attachment. Three-dimensional projections, called wax crystals throughout the text, emerge from a two-dimensional film of cuticular lipids (waxes), representing the hydrophobic component of the plant cuticle

Fibrillar adhesion with no clusterisation: Functional significance of material gradient along adhesive setae of insects

• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Alexander E. Filippov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 837–845, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.95

• various lineages of arthropods. Keywords: adhesion; attachment; biomechanics; computer modelling; cuticle; locomotion; material; surface; Introduction The contact formation of insect adhesive pads on various substrates depends on the pad ability to adapt to different surface topographies. The quality of

• from 1.2 MPa at the tip [12] to 6.8 GPa at the base. At the setal tip, we revealed the rubber-like protein resilin in rather high concentrations [13][14], whereas at the base of the seta the sclerotised cuticle is dominating. Between tip and the base, there is a gradient of material composition

• . This has been previously shown for insect cuticle [24][25], snake skin [26], human teeth [27][28], and other biological composites. The gradients have been also recently reported for smooth attachment devices of insects [29]. Interestingly, the gradients in smooth pads of locusts and bushcrickets are

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

• interaction; papillae; structure–function relationship; Introduction In plants the cuticle constitutes the outermost layer of the plant body and provides the direct interface to the environment. The cuticle is known to show multifaceted surface structuring and to serve different functions. Besides

• stabilisation of the plant tissue and reduction of uncontrolled water loss by providing a transport barrier, the cuticle, e.g., influences surface wetting and sometimes allows for self-cleaning by draining of water. Furthermore, the cuticle can provide protection against harmful radiation, influences the

Hierarchically structured superhydrophobic flowers with low hysteresis of the wild pansy (Viola tricolor) – new design principles for biomimetic materials

• Anna J. Schulte,
• Damian M. Droste,
• Kerstin Koch and
• Wilhelm Barthlott

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 228–236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.27

• , all uncoated polymer replicas feature a lower CA than their biological model and thus did not show the same wetting behavior. This suggests that the replica material is more hydrophobic than the cuticle of the Cosmos petal and more hydrophilic than the cuticles of the other species investigated. The

• surfaces, the micropapillae with wax crystals [6] and micropapillae with cuticle folds. Some remarkable differences exist between the surface architecture of the lotus leaf and Viola petals. In Viola petals microstructures are larger (average height of 40.2 µm) than those of lotus leaves, which have

Sorting of droplets by migration on structured surfaces

• Wilfried Konrad and
• Anita Roth-Nebelsick

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 215–221, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.25

• achieved. For example, different chemical reactants can be directed to different “assembly” lines. Also the speed of the droplets can be controlled. Surfaces similar to our patterns are not uncommon in nature. Insects show a wide variety of ornamentations of their cuticle, their compound eyes and wings [10

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

• hemispherical dome with a diameter of about 12–15 µm. The dome consists of a thin cuticle, which represents the outer boundary of a spherical internal cavity. The cavity is almost completely filled with a tiny cuticular sphere with a diameter of about 10 µm (Figure 2A and Figure 2B). Based on transmission