Hymenoptera and biomimetic surfaces: insights and innovations

• Vinicius Marques Lopez,
• Carlo Polidori and
• Rhainer Guillermo Ferreira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1333–1352, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.107

• technology. Potentially, the corbicula, as other structures mentioned here, may inspire the creation of materials and innovations to carry viscous substances across large distances. Micro-grooming tools: The maintenance of clean and functional body surfaces is crucial for insects. The typical mode of

• grooming occurring in Hymenoptera consists in scraping (one-directional movement of one structure against another), rubbing (two-directional movement of one or both structures in contact) or nibbling (an antenna or leg is taken into the inner mouthparts, essentially mandibles or legs) [137]. About 30

• distinct types of grooming movements are actually recognized for the order [138]. The micro-grooming tools of Hymenoptera, used for cleaning and maintaining their bodies, provide models for the development of micromanipulation and cleaning devices in nanotechnology and microsurgery. This is especially true

Functional morphology of cleaning devices in the damselfly Ischnura elegans (Odonata, Coenagrionidae)

• Silvana Piersanti,
• Gianandrea Salerno,
• Wencke Krings,
• Stanislav Gorb and
• Manuela Rebora

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1260–1272, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.102

• Abstract Among the different micro- and nanostructures located on cuticular surfaces, grooming devices represent fundamental tools for insect survival. The present study describes the grooming microstructures of the damselfly Ischnura elegans (Odonata, Coenagrionidae) at the adult stage. These structures

• , situated on the foreleg tibiae, were observed using scanning electron microscopy, and the presence and distribution of resilin, an elastomeric protein that enhances cuticle flexibility, were analyzed using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Eye and antennal grooming behavior were analyzed to evaluate the

• particle removal efficiency in intact insects and in insects with ablated grooming devices. The grooming devices are constituted of long setae from which a concave cuticular lamina develops towards the medial side of the leg. Each seta shows a material gradient of resilin from its basal to the distal

Functional fibrillar interfaces: Biological hair as inspiration across scales

• Guillermo J. Amador,
• Brett Klaassen van Oorschot,
• Caiying Liao,
• Jianing Wu and
• Da Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 664–677, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.55

• honey bees have been found to facilitate both the collection and removal of pollen grains through the geometries of the hair arrays on their eyes and grooming appendages [44]. Mammalian fur effectively sheds contaminants because the hair deflects when exposed to a fluid flow. This deflection generates a

• cycling [72]. Much like the mammalian hair cycle [4], feathers are conveniently repaired during grooming and replaced seasonally during molt. Feathers are highly structured and exhibit self-similarity. They are comprised of a central rachis, which gives rise to barbs. These barbs then branch into barbules

Insect attachment on waxy plant surfaces: the effect of pad contamination by different waxes

• Elena V. Gorb and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 385–395, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.35

• covered with the fluid secretion. Such contamination may diminish the attachment ability of the pad. Several previous studies performed with some coleopteran and dipteran species (both having hairy adhesive pads) have reported on grooming behavior of test insects after walking on waxy surfaces of

• experiment on glass immediately after the test on the plant, in order to completely exclude a possible effect of feet cleaning or grooming by insects. This aided in the examination of the influence of dirty adhesive pads on the subsequent attachment ability of the beetles. On each set of substrates, five

Interaction between honeybee mandibles and propolis

• Leonie Saccardi,
• Franz Brümmer,
• Jonas Schiebl,
• Oliver Schwarz,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 958–974, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.84

• their mandibles against each other as they do during grooming [44]. In [19], it was also suggested that regurgitated nectar or honey could be used to lubricate mandibles of stingless bees. Another possible origin of the adhesion-reducing fluid on mandibles might be secretion through pore canals as the

Effect of microtrichia on the interlocking mechanism in the Asian ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

• Jiyu Sun,
• Chao Liu,
• Bharat Bhushan,
• Wei Wu and
• Jin Tong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 812–823, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.75

• to the surface (Figure 4i). The lengths of the microtrichia were 14.9–20.5 μm, the widths were 2.3–2.7 μm, and the distance between them was 3.53 ± 0.03 μm. The microtrichia also function in grooming and cleaning behaviors when the hindwings are wet and dirty or during stroking movements of the