Orientation-dependent photonic bandgaps in gold-dust weevil scales and their titania bioreplicates

• Norma Salvadores Farran,
• Limin Wang,
• Primoz Pirih and
• Bodo D. Wilts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1–10, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.1

• structure of the scales The body and the elytra of the gold-dust weevil Hypomeces squamosus are covered with iridescent scales (Figure 1). The scales on the wings and body appear mostly greenish, while the scales on the legs are more bluish (Figure 1a). The elytral scales are flat, about 70 μm long and

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

• characterized by the integration of the first abdominal tergite into the metathorax to form the propodeum. This results in a mesosoma that includes the thorax and propodeum, housing the primary locomotory structures, that is, legs, wings, and their musculature, which makes it the most complex skeletomuscular

• ., epicuticular multilayer reflectors), which can produce brilliant and iridescent colors [26][27][28]. The examples range from the metallic wings of some bees to the striking iridescent colors of wasps [29][30]. Blue coloration is hard to find in nature because blue pigments are rare; hence, animals tend to

• tiny structures belong to two main functional types. They are either mechanosensory and belong to the peripheral nervous system or they have no sensing role and serve to prevent wetting of, for example, wings and legs [41][42][43][44]. Other functions include the detection of airflow patterns, for

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

• behavior also plays a role in distributing substances across their bodies, such as antimicrobial compounds [10], brochosomes [11], and cuticular lipids [6][12]. Additionally, self-grooming is essential for flight, as it keeps the wings clean [13], and for movement on land, by ensuring the cleanliness of

• , predominantly using the forelegs, involves grooming the antennae, head, mesosoma, forelegs, and middle legs. The posterior cluster focuses on cleaning the wings, metasoma, middle legs, and hind legs, and primarily uses the hind legs. A similar behavior is reported in ants, where functional morphology and

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

• providing low adhesion. Such structures are typically found on body parts where contamination is common, such as adhesive pads [40], or where cleanliness is crucial for survival, such as insect wings [41]. Hairs provide more ways to prevent or clean contamination. For a dedicated review on the topic, please

• with slow flight and stall [84]. Indeed, when these hairs are removed, bats alter their flight performance by increasing speed and reducing their turning radius [85]. The membranous wings of insects are covered with bristle (or “hair”) sensilla that act as airflow sensors [86][87]. In Odonata wings

• constant flow [89]. It is hypothesized that the height of these bristles matches the height of the boundary layer, but further aerodynamic testing is necessary [88]. The smallest insects, such as beetles, thrips, and parasitoid wasps, possess wings made entirely of bristles [90][91][92][93][94][95][96

Biomimetics on the micro- and nanoscale – The 25th anniversary of the lotus effect

• Matthias Mail,
• Kerstin Koch,
• Thomas Speck,
• William M. Megill and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 850–856, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.69

• three beetles with different folding ratios”, Sun et al. [8] use modern, high-precision instruments to uncover the relationship between wing morphology and flight performance of three species of beetles. They use a high-speed camera to track flapping frequency, quantify the surface geometry of the wings

• with a super depth-of-field microscope, measure cross-sections of veins of wings via SEM, and characterize the nanomechanical structural and elastic behaviour of the structures using a nanoindenter. The authors use the detailed observations obtained to explore the relative aerodynamical performance of

• flapping insects with high aspect-ratio wings. The authors then relate the aerodynamic performance of the three species studied to the behavioural ecology requirements of their niches to generate exciting avenues of bioinspiration for flapping micro-air-vehicles. Bargel et al. [9] discuss in their review

The origin of black and white coloration of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

• Manuela Rebora,
• Gianandrea Salerno,
• Silvana Piersanti,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 496–508, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.41

• used in the species determination [14][15]. Notwithstanding such scales are rather similar to those of butterfly wings [16], the mosquito scale nanostructures have not been deeply investigated so far regarding the structural colours they generate. Structural colours are common in insects [4] and have

• SEM reveal that the body of Ae. albopictus is covered with scales and microtrichia (Figure 2). Scales of different shape are present on different body parts. Spatulate scales are the most common kind of scales. They are found on the thorax (Figure 2a,b), wings (Figure 2c), halters (Figure 2d), head

• reflected light intensity under different incident or viewing angles, such as in the scales on the ventral side of the wings of the butterfly Curetis acuta Moore (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) [22] or in the Ae. albopictus scales described here. Indeed, the structural white produced by the micro- and

Atmospheric water harvesting using functionalized carbon nanocones

• Fernanda R. Leivas and
• Marcia C. Barbosa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1–10, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.1

• [17]. This beetle has hydrophilic spots on its back, which transform vapor into liquid water. For the collection to be efficient, below the hydrophilic spots, its wings are hydrophobic, and the captured water moves from hydrophilic to hydrophobic parts driven by gravity. The efficiency of this process

Bioselectivity of silk protein-based materials and their bio-inspired applications

• Hendrik Bargel,
• Vanessa T. Trossmann,
• Christoph Sommer and
• Thomas Scheibel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 902–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.81

• that inhibit initial attachment or directly kill microbes (see Figure 2) [50]. Natural surfaces provide many examples of anti-adhesive topography, including nanostructured pikes on Cicada wings [51], micro-structured and patterned riblets of the shark skin scales [52], hierarchically micro- and

Micro-structures, nanomechanical properties and flight performance of three beetles with different folding ratios

• Jiyu Sun,
• Pengpeng Li,
• Yongwei Yan,
• Fa Song,
• Nuo Xu and
• Zhijun Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 845–856, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.75

• , Jilin University, Changchun, 130022, P.R. China 10.3762/bjnano.13.75 Abstract When beetles are not in flight, their hind wings are folded and hidden under the elytra to reduce their size. This provided inspiration for the design of flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles (FWMAVs). In this paper

• was found that the wing folding ratio correlated with the lift force of the beetles. Wind speed, folding ratio, aspect ratio, and flapping frequency had a combined effect on the flight performance of the beetles. The results will be helpful to design new deployable FWMAVs. Keywords: beetle hind wings

• to their small size, light weight, flexibility and concealment, MAVs have completed a series of tasks that are difficult or impossible for larger aircraft [2]. Due to unsteady aerodynamic effects, flapping wings may be a more energy-efficient flight mode than modes achieved with traditional fixed and

Physical constraints lead to parallel evolution of micro- and nanostructures of animal adhesive pads: a review

• Thies H. Büscher and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 725–743, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.57

• tools for various functional demands [3][40]. Specifically, the wings are considered important to facilitate mobility, dispersal, and escape from predators [41][42][43][44][45][46]. Furthermore, the ability to efficiently move in different environments promotes niche diversity and subsequently species

• diversity in insects [47]. A key feature for mobility, next to the evolution of wings, is the evolution of a segmented leg in arthropods [48]. These paired, articulated appendages, in combination with the hardened exoskeleton, served for both Arthropoda and insects, in particular, as a tool to become

• attachment system. During the evolution of insects, two factors have been suggested to be predominantly influence the evolution of attachment devices. Wings enabled the dispersal and colonization of different environments, and flying forced insects to land and attach to several different, often unpredictable

Mapping the local dielectric constant of a biological nanostructured system

• Wescley Walison Valeriano,
• Rodrigo Ribeiro Andrade,
• Juan Pablo Vasco,
• Angelo Malachias,
• Bernardo Ruegger Almeida Neves,
• Paulo Sergio Soares Guimarães and
• Wagner Nunes Rodrigues

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 139–150, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.11

• Riedel et al. [16] developed several techniques of electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) to extract the relative permittivity at the nanoscale, allowing for new fields to be explored. Here we use EFM to map the relative permittivity of nanostructures within the wings of the Chalcopteryx rutilans damselfly

• the measured reflectance in the visible range, obtaining a good correlation. In this way, we can provide a full description of the origin of the shimmering colors of the posterior wings of the Chalcopteryx rutilans damselfly male. This technique should be useful in the study of similar systems

• functions are performed by the male by displaying its strongly iridescent hind wings. The phenomenon of iridescence results from both diffraction and interference in the damselfly wings, and all observed colors result from a multilayer structure, that is, these wings are natural one-dimensional photonic

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

• Matthias Schmidt,
• James M. Byrne and
• Ilari J. Maasilta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1–23, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.1

• micro- and nanostructures responsible for the structural colouration of the wings of two different butterfly species, Papilio ulysses (Blue Mountain Butterfly) and Parides sesostris (Emerald-patched Cattleheart), were imaged to a level of detail not obtained previously with SEM. The study took advantage

• et al. [75]. Their study examined how the surface texture of genetically different samples varied after acid treatment to see the potential for enzymatic biofuel production. HIM imaging was once again used in studies of insect wings and their nanostructures by Bandara et al. [76][77]. In this case, a

• nanopillar texture on the wing of a dragonfly Orthetrum villosovittatum was studied. In addition to imaging the wing alone, samples were prepared with E. coli bacteria on them, to study the bactericidal properties of the nanostructure. Along similar lines, the nanostructures on the wings of three different

An iridescent film of porous anodic aluminum oxide with alternatingly electrodeposited Cu and SiO₂ nanoparticles

• Menglei Chang,
• Huawen Hu,
• Haiyan Quan,
• Hongyang Wei,
• Zhangyi Xiong,
• Jiacong Lu,
• Pin Luo,
• Yaoheng Liang,
• Jianzhen Ou and
• Dongchu Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 735–745, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.73

• with a change of the viewing angle [16][22]. By contrast, no rainbow effect occurs in the pigment colors. The artificial structural color is inspired from nature, e.g., the bright tail of the peacock feathers, the mixed cyan and green shell of the Coleoptera beetles, and the wings of butterflies [15

Biomimetic synthesis of Ag-coated glasswing butterfly arrays as ultra-sensitive SERS substrates for efficient trace detection of pesticides

• Guochao Shi,
• Mingli Wang,
• Yanying Zhu,
• Yuhong Wang,
• Xiaoya Yan,
• Xin Sun,
• Haijun Xu and
• Wanli Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 578–588, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.59

• -effective and time-efficient to apply diatom frustules as a template for SERS-based investigations [22]. Meanwhile, natural wings of insects such as butterfly wing [23], cicada wing [24] and some special shells [25] are also known to comprise periodic and large-scale micro/nanostructures. Notably, a novel

• 3D biomimetic SERS substrate with a high density of “hot spots” was formed on a template of cicada wings via a simple one-step and reagent-free direct-current ion sputtering techniques by Prof. Han’s group [26]. These 3D plasmonic nanostructures are adopted because these 3D substrates offer a great

• deal of “hot spots” and binding sites for probe molecules within the laser illumination spot [27]. Cicada wings were used in their experiment because they comprise periodic and large-scale micro/nanostructures. They were applied in the label-free detection and sensing of animal viruses. Later, via a

Biological and biomimetic surfaces: adhesion, friction and wetting phenomena

• Stanislav N. Gorb,
• Kerstin Koch and
• Lars Heepe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 481–482, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.48

• are devoted to surface-related effects in animal and plant surfaces, such as sandfish scales, wings of a ladybird beetle, tarsi of burying beetles, attachment devices of a sea star and a sea urchin, elytra of a backswimmer, leaves of an ice plant, and the wax layer of sacred lotus leaves. Seven of the

Biomimetic surface structures in steel fabricated with femtosecond laser pulses: influence of laser rescanning on morphology and wettability

• Camilo Florian Baron,
• Alexandros Mimidis,
• Daniel Puerto,
• Evangelos Skoulas,
• Emmanuel Stratakis,
• Javier Solis and
• Jan Siegel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2802–2812, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.262

• ], or the colorful optical effects produced by the wings of a butterfly [3] are just a few examples of the many properties that have been successfully mimicked and used in different technological applications [4]. This area of science is called biomimetics, where many disciplines team up with the

Friction reduction through biologically inspired scale-like laser surface textures

• Johannes Schneider,
• Vergil Djamiykov and
• Christian Greiner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2561–2572, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.238

• allow for tribologically optimized surfaces [17]. Among the animals and biological structures that have been considered are butterfly wings [18], beetles and earthworms [19], scorpions [20] as well as (and most importantly) the skin of snakes and sand fish lizards [21][22][23][24]. It has been

Review on nanoparticles and nanostructured materials: history, sources, toxicity and regulations

• Jaison Jeevanandam,
• Ahmed Barhoum,
• Yen S. Chan,
• Alain Dufresne and
• Michael K. Danquah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1050–1074, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.98

• . Animals and small insects utilize nanostructures for their protection from predatory organisms as well as in their lightweight wings via nanowax coatings. Similarly, humans also possess organs that are primarily contructed by nanostructures, such as bones. Antibodies, enzymes and other secretions that are

• building materials with 0.5 µm to 1 mm thickness [212]. Additionally, the insect wings are formed by a complex vein system which gives superior stability to the entire wing structure [213][214][215]. Long chain crystalline chitin polymer is the basic framework of insect wings that provides membrane support

• orders are provided. It is observed that wood termite (Schedorhinotermes sp.) and cicada (Meimuna microdon) wings are concealed by a denticle layer, while hornet (Vespa sp.) wings are covered by multiple setae. The water contact angles (WCA) are observed to be less than 150° for both the structures [224

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

• hindwings of the H. axyridis was established, and its underlying mechanism is discussed. Keywords: anti-wetting; folding process; interlocking mechanism; micro air vehicles; microtrichia; Introduction Insect wings have many properties, such as lightness, thinness, high flexibility and high load capacity

• [1], as seen in dragonfly wings, for example, that provide inspiration for the design and manufacture of micro air vehicles (MAVs). As a widely distributed order, Coleoptera includes species with various types of complex systems, and the hindwings of beetles are a highly developed deployable

• structure [2][3]. The folding and self-locking function of beetle hindwings provides new ideas for the design of MAVs, which will help simplify the design of folding wings. Beetle hindwings fold under the forewings (elytra). One advantage of this is size reduction, and another is that membranous hindwings

Mechanistic insights into plasmonic photocatalysts in utilizing visible light

• Kah Hon Leong,
• Azrina Abd Aziz,
• Lan Ching Sim,
• Pichiah Saravanan,
• Min Jang and
• Detlef Bahnemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 628–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.59

• [147][148]. Bio-inspired plasmonic nanostructures/architectures The pioneering works of several research groups have revealed that by mimicing biological systems, such as butterfly wings [149] and snake skin [150], systems can be designed that are cable of absorbing NIR light due to their distinctive

Fabrication of gold-coated PDMS surfaces with arrayed triangular micro/nanopyramids for use as SERS substrates

• Jingran Zhang,
• Yongda Yan,
• Peng Miao and
• Jianxiong Cai

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2271–2282, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.227

• using imprint lithography. Several researchers have used biological organisms as biotemplates, such as the wings of cicadas [17][18] and butterflies [19][20][21]. A nanostructured SERS substrate was achieved for the replication of a biotemplate of a cicada wing and low concentrations of thiophenol and

Biological and biomimetic materials and surfaces

• Stanislav Gorb and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 403–407, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.42

• diatomes and increases their resistance to mechanical damage. The thin hind wings of diving beetles (Dytiscidae) are fragile and protected by their elytra (leathery forewings). In the resting beetle, the hind wings are folded over the abdomen; in flight, they are unfolded in order to provide aerodynamic

Innovations from the “ivory tower”: Wilhelm Barthlott and the paradigm shift in surface science

• Christoph Neinhuis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 394–402, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.41

• bioinspired technology. Although self-cleaning surfaces were not the first technically applied inspirations derived from biological models – well-known examples are evolutionary algorithms [44][45], “winglets” at the tips of airplane wings [46], “riblets” derived from shark skins [47], or form optimization of

Functional diversity of resilin in Arthropoda

• Jan Michels,
• Esther Appel and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1241–1259, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.115

• structures where this protein has a number of different functions, which include (1) the storage of elastic energy in jumping systems [15][16][17][18][19][20], (2) the reduction of fatigue in folding wings of beetles and dermapterans [21][22], (3) the enhancement of the adaptability of attachment pads to

• and membranous areas of insect wings [21][22][24], the food-pump of reduviid bugs [51], tymbal sound production organs of cicadas [52][53] and moths [54], abdominal cuticle of honey ant workers [55] and termite queens [56], the fulcral arms of the poison apparatus of ants [57] and the tendons of

• microjoints Resilin has already been found in various elements of insect flight apparatus, including tendons connecting muscles to pleural sclerites, wing hinge ligaments connecting the wings to the thoracic wall, prealar arms connecting pleural sclerites to the mesotergum, wing vein micro-joints connecting

The hydraulic mechanism in the hind wing veins of Cybister japonicus Sharp (order: Coleoptera)

• Jiyu Sun,
• Wei Wu,
• Mingze Ling,
• Bharat Bhushan and
• Jin Tong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 904–913, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.82

• wings are thin and fragile under the protection of their elytra (forewings). When the beetle is at rest the hind wings are folded over the abdomen of the beetle and when in flight they unfold to provide the necessary aerodynamic forces. In this paper, the unfolding process of the hind wing of Cybister

• . The blood flow and pressure changes are discussed. The driving mechanism for hydraulic control of the folding and unfolding actions of beetle hind wings is put forward. This can assist the design of new deployable micro air vehicles and bioinspired deployable systems. Keywords: bioinspiration; diving

• beetles; hydraulic mechanism; wings; micro air vehicles (MAVs); Introduction The concept of a micro air vehicle (MAV) was first introduced in the early 1990s. It was extensively researched because of its advantages over traditional aircraft, such as its small size, light weight, good concealment