Locomotion and adhesion: dynamic control of adhesive surface contact in ants

Federle, Walter; Endlein, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.asd.2003.11.001

Cited by 90 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…One example is the velcro-like attachment (5,700 times body weight) between ant claws and the fuzzy loops on certain plant leaves (19). Conversely, the gripping force is twice as strong as the ant adhesion to smooth surfaces such as glass (370 AE 90 dyn, N ¼ 10) or plastic (1-150 times body weight) (20,21). On such surfaces, ants extrude fluid drops with their feet, adhering using the associated capillary and viscous forces (18,22,23).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire ants self-assemble into waterproof rafts to survive floods

Mlot

Tovey²,

Hu³

2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

232

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Why does a single fire ant Solenopsis invicta struggle in water, whereas a group can float effortlessly for days? We use time-lapse photography to investigate how fire ants S. invicta link their bodies together to build waterproof rafts. Although water repellency in nature has been previously viewed as a static material property of plant leaves and insect cuticles, we here demonstrate a selfassembled hydrophobic surface. We find that ants can considerably enhance their water repellency by linking their bodies together, a process analogous to the weaving of a waterproof fabric. We present a model for the rate of raft construction based on observations of ant trajectories atop the raft. Central to the construction process is the trapping of ants at the raft edge by their neighbors, suggesting that some "cooperative" behaviors may rely upon coercion.cooperative animal behavior | surface tension | adhesive | emergent | differential equation

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire ants self-assemble into waterproof rafts to survive floods

Mlot

Tovey²,

Hu³

2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

232

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, Oecophylla smaragdina ants were found to use only 14 per cent of their available contact area when walking upside down [33]. This control of adhesive contact area may not only be important for reducing wear of adhesive pads and facilitating detachment, but also for limiting fluid loss [33]. It is probable that capillary suction leads to more fluid deposition on rough surfaces [38], but the magnitude of this effect is still unknown.…”

Section: Secretion From a 'Sponge-like' Cuticlementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even when pads are in surface contact, insects can control the size of the adhesive contact area. For example, Oecophylla smaragdina ants were found to use only 14 per cent of their available contact area when walking upside down [33]. This control of adhesive contact area may not only be important for reducing wear of adhesive pads and facilitating detachment, but also for limiting fluid loss [33].…”

Section: Secretion From a 'Sponge-like' Cuticlementioning

confidence: 99%

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Mechanisms of fluid production in smooth adhesive pads of insects

Dirks

Federle

2011

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Insect adhesion is mediated by thin fluid films secreted into the contact zone. As the amount of fluid affects adhesive forces, a control of secretion appears probable. Here, we quantify for the first time the rate of fluid secretion in adhesive pads of cockroaches and stick insects. The volume of footprints deposited during consecutive press-downs decreased exponentially and approached a non-zero steady state, demonstrating the presence of a storage volume. We estimated its size and the influx rate into it from a simple compartmental model. Influx was independent of step frequency. Fluid-depleted pads recovered maximal footprint volumes within 15 min. Pads in stationary contact accumulated fluid along the perimeter of the contact zone. The initial fluid build-up slowed down, suggesting that flow is driven by negative Laplace pressure. Freely climbing stick insects left hardly any traceable footprints, suggesting that they save secretion by minimizing contact area or by recovering fluid during detachment. However, even the highest fluid production rates observed incur only small biosynthesis costs, representing less than 1 per cent of the resting metabolic rate. Our results show that fluid secretion in insect wet adhesive systems relies on simple physical principles, allowing for passive control of fluid volume within the contact zone.

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“…Controllability is one of the most remarkable properties of animal adhesive organs, but the detailed mechanisms involved are still largely unknown. We showed recently how weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) can control attachment by contracting their claw flexor muscle to move the adhesive pad (arolium) [4][5][6]. The Hymenopteran insects (sawflies, bees, wasps and ants) bear an intricate mechanism to unfold and expand the arolium to make contact to the substrate [4,[7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid preflexes in smooth adhesive pads of insects prevent sudden detachment

Endlein

Federle

2013

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Many insects possess adhesive organs that can produce extreme attachment forces of more than 100 times body weight but they can rapidly release adhesion to allow locomotion. During walking, weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) use only a fraction of their maximally available contact area, even upside-down on a smooth surface. To test whether the reduced contact area makes the ants more susceptible to sudden and unexpected detachment forces, for example, by rain or wind gusts, we investigated the reaction of untethered ants to rapid horizontal displacements of the substrate. Highspeed video recordings revealed that the pad's contact area could more than double within the first millisecond after the perturbation. This contact area expansion is much faster than any neuromuscular reflex and therefore represents a passive 'preflex', resulting from the mechanical properties and geometrical arrangement of the (pre-)tarsus. This preflex reaction protects ants effectively against unexpected detachment, and allows them to use less contact area during locomotion. Contact area expanded most strongly when the substrate displacement generated a pull along the axis of the tarsus, showing that the ants' preflex is direction-dependent. The preflex may be based on the ability of Hymenopteran adhesive pads to unfold when pulled towards the body. We tested Indian stick insects (Carausius morosus), which have smooth pads that lack this motility. Similar to the ants, they showed a rapid and direction-dependent expansion of the contact area mainly in the lateral direction. We propose that the preflex reaction in stick insects is based on the reorientation of internal cuticle fibrils in a constant-volume system, whereas the ants' pad cuticle is probably not a hydrostat, and pad extension is achieved by the arcus, an endoscelerite of the arolium.

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Locomotion and adhesion: dynamic control of adhesive surface contact in ants

Cited by 90 publications

References 31 publications

Fire ants self-assemble into waterproof rafts to survive floods

Fire ants self-assemble into waterproof rafts to survive floods

Mechanisms of fluid production in smooth adhesive pads of insects

Rapid preflexes in smooth adhesive pads of insects prevent sudden detachment

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