Peisker, Henrik and Gorb, Stanislav N. (2012) Evaporation dynamics of tarsal liquid footprints in flies (Calliphora vicina) and beetles (Coccinella septempunctata). Journal of Experimental Biology, 215 (8). pp. 1266-1271. DOI 10.1242/jeb.065722.

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Abstract

Insect 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.

Document Type:	Article
Research affiliation:	Kiel University > Kiel Marine Science OceanRep > The Future Ocean - Cluster of Excellence
Refereed:	Yes
Open Access Journal?:	No
Publisher:	The Company of Biologists
Projects:	Future Ocean
Date Deposited:	14 May 2014 09:44
Last Modified:	27 Aug 2019 10:38
URI:	https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/24197

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