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Impact of Ambient Humidity on Traction Forces in Ladybird Beetles (Coccinella septempunctata)

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Bio-inspired Structured Adhesives

Part of the book series: Biologically-Inspired Systems ((BISY,volume 9))

Abstract

Many insects possess hairy adhesive foot pads, supplemented with a tarsal secretion, which allow them to securely and reversibly attach to various kinds of natural substrates, also under complex environmental conditions. Conditions such as ambient temperature and humidity have been shown to influence the attachment ability of the dry adhesive foot pads in spiders and geckos. For insects, however, the influence of the environment on attachment ability is lacking. In the present study, we therefore studied the attachment ability of the seven-spotted ladybird beetle (Coccinella septempunctata) at different humidities by traction force experiments. Our results indicate an optimal range of relative humidity with maximal traction forces. At both low (15%) and high (99%) relative humidity a decrease of attachment ability was found. At 60% humidity, the highest attachment forces were revealed. This relationship was found both in female and male beetles, despite of a deviating structure of adhesive setae and a significant difference in forces between sexes. These findings demonstrate that humidity similarly affects the function of both dry and wet adhesive pads, although both types of adhesive systems (wet and dry) are supposed to be based on different physical interactions (capillarity versus van der Waals forces).

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Acknowledgements

This book chapter is adapted from the publication Heepe, Wolff, and Gorb (2016) Influence of ambient humidity on the attachment ability of ladybird beetles (Coccinella septempunctata). Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 7, 1332–1329. The authors like to thank J. Oesert, L. Reichel and H. Peisker for help with the experimental setup. V. Kastner (Max Planck Institute for Metals Research, Stuttgart, Germany) and U. Köhler are acknowledged for improvement of language of an early version of the manuscript. This work was partially supported by CARTRIB Project of The Leverhulme Trust to SG.

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Author notes

  1. Lars Heepe

    Present address: Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, NanoSYD Alsion 2, 6400, Sønderborg, Denmark

  2. Jonas O. Wolff

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Zoological Institute, Kiel University, Am Botanischen Garten 1–9, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Lars Heepe, Jonas O. Wolff & Stanislav N. Gorb

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  1. Lars Heepe
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  2. Jonas O. Wolff
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  3. Stanislav N. Gorb
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Correspondence to Lars Heepe .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Functional Morphology & Biomechanics, Zoological Institute, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany

    Lars Heepe

  2. School of Power and Mechanical Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

    Longjian Xue

  3. Department of Functionnal Morphology & Biomechanics, Zoological Institute, Kiel University,, Kiel, Germany

    Stanislav N. Gorb

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Heepe, L., Wolff, J.O., Gorb, S.N. (2017). Impact of Ambient Humidity on Traction Forces in Ladybird Beetles (Coccinella septempunctata). In: Heepe, L., Xue, L., Gorb, S. (eds) Bio-inspired Structured Adhesives. Biologically-Inspired Systems, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59114-8_2

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