Leaf beetle attachment on wrinkles: isotropic friction on anisotropic surfaces

Title data

Voigt, Dagmar ; Schweikart, Alexandra ; Fery, Andreas ; Gorb, Stanislav:
Leaf beetle attachment on wrinkles: isotropic friction on anisotropic surfaces.
In: Journal of Experimental Biology. Vol. 215 (2012) Issue 11 . - pp. 1975-1982.
ISSN 1477-9145
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.068320

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

The influence of surface roughness on the attachment ability of insects has been repeatedly reported. In previous experiments, complex surface topographies were used as test substrates, whereas periodical structures have so far been neglected. In the present study, traction experiments with adult beetles Gastrophysa viridula and Leptinotarsa decemlineata were carried out to study the influence of surfaces, structured with periodical wrinkles, on insect attachment. Force measurements were carried out on male and female insects, both intact and after removal of claws, performing tethered walking on five polydimethylsiloxane substrates: (i) smooth, non-structured (control), (ii-v) structured with wrinkles of different wavelengths (366, 502, 911 and 25,076. nm). In two test series, beetles walked either perpendicular or parallel to the wrinkle alignment. Adults of G. viridula produced generally higher forces than those of L. decemlineata. The results show that the alignment of wrinkles had no significant influence on the force generation by beetles, probably because of the skewed position of their tarsomeres relative to the substrates. In both sexes, the highest force values were obtained on surfaces with wrinkles of 25 mu m wavelength. On other wrinkled substrates, forces were significantly reduced in both males and females compared with the smooth, flat control, with the minimum force achieved on wrinkles with a wavelength of 911 nm.

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Institutions of the University:	Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Chemistry Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Chemistry > Former Professors > Chair Physical Chemistry II - Univ.-Prof. Dr. Andreas Fery Faculties Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Chemistry > Chair Physical Chemistry II Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Chemistry > Former Professors
Result of work at the UBT:	Yes
DDC Subjects:	500 Science > 500 Natural sciences 500 Science > 530 Physics 500 Science > 540 Chemistry
Date Deposited:	05 Dec 2014 10:10
Last Modified:	04 Jul 2022 12:59
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/3964