Structure and mechanical properties of beetle wings: a review

Abstract

Insects of extremely small size have evolved to solve many problems. Their structure and mechanical properties information can be utilized to mimic them for industrial applications. Since beetle (Coleoptera, an order of insects) wings exhibit special functionalities, they have sparked worldwide research attention. Beetle wings are composed of a forewing (also known as elytron) and a hind wing. The elytra are rigid. A beetle's functional wings, which allow flying, are the hind wings. The elytra have an ingenious structure with superhydrophobic characteristics, a structural coloration and anti-adhesion characteristics. Their inner structure helps to provide light mass and high strength. The rotation angle and wing locking system of elytra are important features which increase beetles' ability to fly; they may furnish an insight for portable micro air vehicles (MAVs) and also provide inspiration for the design of bioinspired deployable systems. Studies of the structural and mechanical properties in biological systems may improve the understanding of natural solutions and advance the design of novel artificial materials. In this paper, the structure, mechanical properties and their relationship to function of beetle wings are discussed. Examples of bioinspired structures and materials are also presented.

Functional morphology and structural characteristics of wings of the ladybird beetle,Coccinella septempunctata(L.)

“…They proposed a novel structure, inspired by beetles, which possesses better crashworthy performance inspired by beetles. Aspects of the structure and mechanical properties of beetle wings can also be used for industrial applications (Sun and Bhushan, 2012).…”

Superhydrophobic hierarchically structured surfaces in biology: evolution, structural principles and biomimetic applications

“…Insect surfaces are often hierarchically sculptured by bristles and microvilli [69] and are thus superhydrophobic. The literature on insect surfaces is vast (surveys in [63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70]). …”

Review of beetle forewing structures and their biomimetic applications in China: (I) On the structural colors and the vertical and horizontal cross-sectional structures

“…These features make beetle forewings an excellent biological model for our biomimetic research. The work described above has primarily been performed by two research groups: LQ Ren at Jilin University [81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88] and ZD Dai at NUAA [47,[89][90][91]. These groups focused on the surface structures of beetle forewings and their friction properties, applications, and nanometer indentation hardness and energy storage.…”