Adhesive Exocrine Glands in Insects: Morphology, Ultrastructure, and Adhesive Secretion

Betz, Oliver

doi:10.1007/978-3-7091-0286-2_8

Cited by 53 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 250 publications

(272 reference statements)

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“…Other authors have assumed exactly the same phenomenon and arrived at the same conclusion for another adhesive system (e.g. Betz, 2010). After 15min, the oily fraction might be strongly depleted, exposing the water fraction to the air and promoting evaporation.…”

Section: Fluid Composition and Evaporation Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…It has previously been shown that in both hairy and smooth pads the contact is often mediated by an adhesive fluid (Walker et al, 1985;Ishii, 1987;Lees and Hardie, 1988;Eisner and Aneshansley, 2000;Jiao et al, 2000;Betz, 2010), which differs in chemical composition in different insect species (Gorb, 1998;Federle et al, 2002;Voetsch et al, 2002;Betz, 2010;Geiselhardt et al, 2010). In beetles, the fluid is mainly oil based, whereas in flies, it was assumed to be a water-oil micro-emulsion (Gorb, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaporation dynamics of tarsal liquid footprints in flies (Calliphora vicina)and beetles (Coccinella septempunctata)

Peisker

Gorb

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYInsect tarsal adhesive structures secrete a thin layer of fluid into the contact area. It was previously reported that the presence of this fluid significantly increases adhesion on various substrata. Previous data obtained from representatives of different insect groups suggest a difference not only in the chemical composition of the fluid, but also in its physical properties. In the present study, we have measured for the first time changes in the droplet geometry over time and the evaporation rate of the fluid in flies (Calliphora vicina) and beetles (Coccinella septempunctata) by the use of atomic force microscopy. Flattened droplets of the beetle had lower evaporation rates than hemispherical footprints of the fly. Within 1h, the droplet volume reduced to 21% of the initial volume for the fly, and to 65% for the beetle, suggesting a larger fraction of volatile compounds in the fly fluid. It was revealed that drop geometry changes significantly during evaporation and shows pinning effects for the fly footprints due to an assumed self-organizing oil layer on top of the water fraction of the micro-emulsion. The data obtained suggest that the adhesion strength in capillarity-based switchable adhesive systems must be time-dependent because of the specific evaporation rate of the adhesive fluid. These results are important for our understanding of the functional mechanism of insect adhesive systems and also for biomimetics of artificial capillarity-based adhesive systems.

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Section: Fluid Composition and Evaporation Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 68%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaporation dynamics of tarsal liquid footprints in flies (Calliphora vicina)and beetles (Coccinella septempunctata)

Peisker

Gorb

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…For the sake of simplicity, terminal contact elements and the substrate are considered as stiff circular plates with radius r and separation distance h (figure 4). Because insect tarsal secretions have been previously reported to be oilbased [25,26] or to be an oily microemulsion [6,27,28,30,42] having low surface tension, we assume that the secretions have the ability to wet (contact angles , 908) most of the substrate materials, as well as the underlying insect terminal contact elements themselves. Thus, once the secretion fills the space between spatula and substrate, a capillary bridge forms causing an attractive force between the plates.…”

Section: Estimation Of Contact Formation Time In Hairy Wet Adhesive Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative study of the fluid viscosity in tarsal hairy attachment systems of flies and beetles

Peisker

Heepe

Kovalev

et al. 2014

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Wet adhesive systems of insects strongly rely for their function on the formation of capillary bridges with the substrate. Studies on the chemical composition and evaporation dynamics of tarsal secretions strongly suggest a difference in chemistry of secretion in beetles and flies, both possessing hairy attachment devices. This difference is assumed to influence the viscosity of the secretion. Here, we applied a microrheological technique, based on the immersion of nanometric beads in the collected tarsal footprints, to estimate secretion viscosity in a beetle (Coccinella septempunctata) and a fly (Calliphora vicina). Both species studied possess distinct differences in viscosity, the median of which was calculated as 21.8 and 10.9 mPa s, respectively. We further present an approximate theoretical model to calculate the contact formation time of spatula-like terminal contact elements using the viscosity data of the covering fluid.

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“…In such wet adhesive systems, a liquid is squeezed out of tight contacts and builds bridges between two surfaces that are close to each other. The presence of pad secretion produced by specific epithelia in the contacts is crucial for generating strong attractive forces and therefore a strong friction [11,12]. Aside from van der Waals and Coulomb forces, attractive capillary forces mediated by the pad secretion are an important factor in the mechanism of insect attachment [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insect wet steps: loss of fluid from insect feet adhering to a substrate

Kovalev

Filippov

Gorb

2013

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Reliable attachment ability of insect adhesive pads is proposed to be due to pad secretion. It has been shown that surface roughness strongly reduces adhesion forces of insect pads. This effect has been explained by decreased contact area and rapid fluid absorption from the pad surface by rough surfaces. However, it remains unclear how the fluid flows on rough substrates having different roughness parameters and surface energy. In this paper, we numerically studied the fluid flow on rough substrates during contact formation. The results demonstrate that an increase in the density of the substrate structures leads to an increase in fluid loss from the pad: substrates with a fine roughness absorb pad fluid faster. Decreased affinity of the solid substrate to the fluid has a more remarkable effect on the fluid loss and leads to a decrease in the fluid loss. With an increase in the aspect ratio of the substrate irregularities ( porosity), the fluid loss is decreased. The numerical results obtained agree well with previous observations on insects and experimental results on nanoporous substrata. The significance of the obtained results for understanding biological wet adhesives is discussed.

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Adhesive Exocrine Glands in Insects: Morphology, Ultrastructure, and Adhesive Secretion

Cited by 53 publications

References 250 publications

Evaporation dynamics of tarsal liquid footprints in flies (Calliphora vicina)and beetles (Coccinella septempunctata)

Evaporation dynamics of tarsal liquid footprints in flies (Calliphora vicina)and beetles (Coccinella septempunctata)

Comparative study of the fluid viscosity in tarsal hairy attachment systems of flies and beetles

Insect wet steps: loss of fluid from insect feet adhering to a substrate

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