Wing‐locking mechanisms in aquatic Heteroptera

Abstract

This account provides a detailed morphological and ultrastructural study of wing-locking mechanisms (LM) in some aquatic Heteroptera. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to describe the functional significance of macro- and microstructures holding wings tightly against the body at rest and those involved in functional diptery in flight. There are two types of LM holding the forewings (hemelytra) at rest: 1) wing-to-wing LM, and 2) wing-to-body LM. The first type includes the brush-to-brush LM, the clavus-clavus clamp and the clavus-clavus locking ridge. The second type includes devices locking the hemelytra to the body: the subcostal border of the hemelytra to the lateral border of mesepimeron, the knob-and-socket locking mechanism of the hemelytra, and the clavus-locking mechanism to the scutellum groove. The hindwing is locked by a pair of microtrichial fields situated on the hindwing-articulated pad at the basal area of the hindwing and on the thoracic pad in the vicinity of the wing articulation. Morphological and ultrastructural data suggest that different LM are parts of one mechanism holding wings to the body at rest. An additional locking mechanism, connecting the hemelytra with the hindwing, is the only LM providing functional diptery in flight.

It's Not a Bug, It's a Feature: Functional Materials in Insects

“…Numbers in parentheses correspond to the section associated with the particular functionality. [42] Florida tortoise beetles, [606] chrysopoids, [47] leaf beetles [43] Mechanical fasteners Dragonflies, [53] true bugs, [55] beetles, [56] aquatic true bugs, [55] beetles [56] Chemical sensing and defense…”

“…[54] Examples of quick-release adhesives can be found in many different flying insects that attach their wings to their bodies when not in use. These fastening mechanisms take on a variety of different forms, including snap-like binders in aquatic true bugs (order Hemiptera), [55] and the pointed, angled structures used by beetles (order Coleoptera). [56] Aquatic Hemiptera secure their forewings tightly to the thorax while at rest using a knob-and-socket geometry similar to metal snaps used for fastening clothing, but much smaller.…”

“…[56] Aquatic Hemiptera secure their forewings tightly to the thorax while at rest using a knob-and-socket geometry similar to metal snaps used for fastening clothing, but much smaller. [55] The thorax of these insects contains an array of knobs or button-like protrusions, which are rounded, pear-shaped, or dome-like depending on the species. Each knob is entirely covered with small, densely packed tile-like microtrichia.…”

Coupling between elytra of some beetles: Mechanism, forces and effect of surface texture

“…Gorb [6][7][8] studied many coupling mechanisms in insects, from both a morphology view and a tribology view, such as the coupling between a head and a body in dragonflies, a coupling between the fore-wing and hind-wing of a butterfly, coupling between elytra and body in beetles. Gorb and Goodwyn [9] measured the coupling forces between the elytra and body of a beetle. Hass and Wootton [10] studied the opening and closing behaviors of flying wings in beetles.…”

Structural design inspired by beetle elytra and its mechanical properties

“…Many recent studies on elytra have focused primarily on the surface morphology [10][11][12][13][14][15], structural coloration [16], micro-structure [17][18][19][20], the mechanism of coupling between elytra [21,22], and measurement of the mechanical properties of elytra [23], while studies on elytra-inspired lightweight structural design, manufacture and mechanical analysis have been rarely reported. In this paper, on the basis of the microstructure of the cross-section of Cybister (Cybister tripunctatus Olivier) elytra, three bio-inspired lightweight structures were designed and built with a threedimensional (3D) printer, their mechanical properties were analyzed employing the finite element method, and samples were tested using an electronic universal testing machine.…”