Functional morphology of the adhesive organs of stick insects ( Carausius morosus )

Bennemann, Michael; Scholz, Ingo; Baumgärtner, Werner

doi:10.1117/12.888841

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…The pad microsculpture in I. ricinus is similar to patterns found in mecopteran and lepidopteran arolia (Beutel and Gorb, 2001;Al Bitar et al, 2009), and heteropteran ( pseudo)pulvilli Voigt et al, 2007). The fibrous anatomy and fibre bundle branching principle of ixodid pads resembles that of arolia in honeybees (Baur and Gorb, 2001), arolia in stick insects (Scholz et al, 2008;Bennemann et al, 2011;Labonte et al, 2014), prolegs in lepidopteran larvae (Hasenfuss, 1999) and euplantulae in grasshoppers (Kendall, 1970;Henning, 1974;Perez Goodwyn et al, 2006). Like ixodid pads, grasshopper euplantulae possess a distinct hierarchical arrangement of fibre layers, resulting in two levels of deformation when they contact the substratum .…”

Section: Discussion Soft and Flexible But Tough: Tarsal Functional Mmentioning

confidence: 61%

Functional morphology of tarsal adhesive pads and attachment ability in ticksIxodes ricinus(Arachnida, Acari, Ixodidae)

Voigt

Gorb

2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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The presence of well-developed, elastic claws on ticks and widely pilose hosts led us to hypothesise that ticks are mostly adapted to attachment and locomotion on rough, strongly corrugated and hairy, felt-like substrates. However, by using a combination of morphological and experimental approaches, we visualised the ultrastructure of attachment devices of Ixodes ricinus and showed that this species adheres more strongly to smooth surfaces than to rough ones. Between paired, elongated, curved, elastic claws, I. ricinus bears a large, flexible, foldable adhesive pad, which represents an adaptation to adhesion on smooth surfaces. Accordingly, ticks attached strongest to glass and to surface profiles similar to those of the human skin, generating safety factors (attachment force relative to body weight) up to 534 (females). Considerably lower attachment force was found on silicone substrates and as a result of thanatosis after jolting.

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Section: Discussion Soft and Flexible But Tough: Tarsal Functional Mmentioning

confidence: 61%

Functional morphology of tarsal adhesive pads and attachment ability in ticksIxodes ricinus(Arachnida, Acari, Ixodidae)

Voigt

Gorb

2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…This determination is considered important given the ease and extent of deformation associated with the toe pads; a simple lymph space would allow lymph fluid to move freely between tissues in response to changes in the toe pad profile. Interestingly, a similar histological space has also been observed within the smooth adhesive organs of the stick insect, Carausius morosus (Scholz et al, ; Bennemann et al, ; Bennemann et al, ) in which it is referred to as a hemolymph filled region. In frogs, a lymph space would also provide the toe pads with a capacity for shock absorption (Barnes et al, ; Nokhbatolfoghahai, ); however, the findings of this study suggest that shock absorption was achieved by a combination of different structural elements, that is, three PAS‐positive epidermal layers, a dense vascular network, and large lymph spaces in the dermis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…The second level of flexibility may have served to stabilize the microprojection array when it was in contact with the substrate. Interestingly, this combined mechanism, as well as the appearance of tonofibril conformation (directionality and hierarchy) may be comparable to that for fibrous structures in the adhesive pads of insects (Gorb, , Scholz et al, ; Bennemann et al, ; Dirks et al, ; Bennemann et al, ), which are classified depending on whether they employ the same adhesion mechanism (wet adhesive surface) and/or surface structural features (relatively smooth adhesive surface).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Light and electron microscopic analyses of the high deformability of adhesive toe pads in White's tree frog, Litoria caerulea

Nakano

Saino

2016

Journal of Morphology

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White's tree frog (Litoria caerulea) has large, adhesive toe pads that are among the softest of all known biological structures. To explore the morphological basis for the physical properties of the toe pads, the internal microstructure of the toe pads in L. caerulea was examined using both light and transmission electron microscopy. Three design elements that are distinct from other areas of skin were observed. First, the keratinocytes comprising the adhesive surface of the toe pad all contained keratin filament bundles (tonofibrils) exhibiting structural anisotropy. Specifically, the curved conformation of the hierarchical (branching) tonofibrils was characterized by the formation of anastomoses consisting of tonofibrils beneath the adhesive cell surface and stem keratin filament bundles concentrated in the lower-middle part of the dorsal-side of adhesive cells. Second, the cytoplasm of keratinocytes in the most superficial cell layer contained glycoproteins (stained by periodic acid/Schiff reagent) that are considered to confer high viscoelasticity. Third, the dermis contained large lymph spaces interspersed with elastic fibers and collagen fibers, which were relatively sparsely distributed compared to the dorsal skin of the toe pads. The profiles of these structures were easily deformed by the slight application of pressure. These findings reaffirmed that the unique internal architecture of the toe pads in L. caerulea contributed to their remarkable softness and high deformability, which in turn increased the contact area and provided improved adaptability to the local topography of natural surfaces. J. Morphol. 277:1509-1516, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…‘Toe pads’ (arolia) of Nauphoeta cinerea cockroaches are smooth, whereas the surface of their ‘heel pads’ (euplantulae) is patterned by transverse ‘friction ridges’, which have a steeper slope on the distal side, enhancing pushing forces on rough surfaces [ 15 ]. The arolia of stick insects also have a smooth surface [ 8 , 16 , 17 ], but the euplantulae of many species are covered by short hair-like outgrowths ( figure 1 ; [ 8 , 17 , 18 ]), which have been identified as acanthae (i.e. outgrowths of individual epidermal cells) in previous studies [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface contact and design of fibrillar ‘friction pads’ in stick insects (Carausius morosus): mechanisms for large friction coefficients and negligible adhesion

Labonte

Williams

Federle

2014

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Many stick insects and mantophasmids possess tarsal ‘heel pads’ (euplantulae) covered by arrays of conical, micrometre-sized hairs (acanthae). These pads are used mainly under compression; they respond to load with increasing shear resistance, and show negligible adhesion. Reflected-light microscopy in stick insects (Carausius morosus) revealed that the contact area of ‘heel pads’ changes with normal load on three hierarchical levels. First, loading brought larger areas of the convex pads into contact. Second, loading increased the density of acanthae in contact. Third, higher loads changed the shape of individual hair contacts gradually from circular (tip contact) to elongated (side contact). The resulting increase in real contact area can explain the load dependence of friction, indicating a constant shear stress between acanthae and substrate. As the euplantula contact area is negligible for small loads (similar to hard materials), but increases sharply with load (resembling soft materials), these pads show high friction coefficients despite little adhesion. This property appears essential for the pads’ use in locomotion. Several morphological characteristics of hairy friction pads are in apparent contrast to hairy pads used for adhesion, highlighting key adaptations for both pad types. Our results are relevant for the design of fibrillar structures with high friction coefficients but small adhesion.

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Functional morphology of the adhesive organs of stick insects ( Carausius morosus )

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Functional morphology of tarsal adhesive pads and attachment ability in ticksIxodes ricinus(Arachnida, Acari, Ixodidae)

Functional morphology of tarsal adhesive pads and attachment ability in ticksIxodes ricinus(Arachnida, Acari, Ixodidae)

Light and electron microscopic analyses of the high deformability of adhesive toe pads in White's tree frog, Litoria caerulea

Surface contact and design of fibrillar ‘friction pads’ in stick insects (Carausius morosus): mechanisms for large friction coefficients and negligible adhesion

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