New results on sexual differences in tarsal adhesive setae of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae)

Gloyna, K.; Thieme, Thomas; Gorb, Stanislav N.; Voigt, Dagmar

doi:10.14712/23361964.2014.3

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Taken together, these results demonstrate that cytoskeletal actin filaments are a mandatory component in the mechanism employed by Drosophila for the formation of the structural framework that determines the shape and thereby adhesiveness of the footpad hair. The footpad hair tips in insects show various shapes, such as filamentous, lanceolate, spatulate, and discoidal [3][4][5]17 . Our results suggest that insects with hairy pads employ this actin-based morphogenesis mechanism to provide distinct shapes to the microstructures of their footpad hair.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framework with cytoskeletal actin filaments forming insect footpad hairs inspires biomimetic adhesive device design

et al. 2020

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Footpads allow insects to walk on smooth surfaces. Specifically, liquid secretions on the footpad mediate adhesiveness through Van der Waals, Coulomb, and attractive capillary forces. Although the morphology and function of the footpad are well defined, the mechanism underlying their formation remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that footpad hair in Drosophila is formed by the elongation of the hair cells and assembly of actin filaments. Knockdown of Actin5C caused a malformation of the hair structure, resulting in reduced ability to adhere to smooth substrates. We determined that functional footpads are created when hair cells form effective frameworks with actin filament bundles, thereby shaping the hair tip and facilitating cuticular deposition. We adapted this mechanism of microstructure formation to design a new artificial adhesive device-a spatula-like fiber-framed adhesive device supported by nylon fibers with a gel material at the tip. This simple self-assembly mechanism facilitates the energy-efficient production of low-cost adhesion devices.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framework with cytoskeletal actin filaments forming insect footpad hairs inspires biomimetic adhesive device design

et al. 2020

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“…The tarsal morphology, dimensions, sexual dimorphism and copulation posture of rosemary beetles resemble those of other representatives of Chrysomelidae, e.g. dock leaf beetles, Colorado potato beetles, blue milkweed beetles and Western corn rootworms [ 3 , 7 , 10 , 14 , 34 – 36 ]. Thus, rosemary beetles C. americana are well comparable with leaf beetles investigated in previous studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

How tight are beetle hugs? Attachment in mating leaf beetles

2017

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Similar to other leaf beetles, rosemary beetles Chrysolina americana exhibit a distinct sexual dimorphism in tarsal attachment setae. Setal discoid terminals occur only in males, and they have been previously associated with a long-term attachment to the female's back (elytra) during copulation and mate guarding. For the first time, we studied living males and females holding to female's elytra. Pull-off force measurements with a custom-made tribometer featuring a self-aligning sample holder confirmed stronger attachment to female elytra compared with glass in both males and females; corresponding to 45 and 30 times the body weight, respectively. In line with previous studies, males generated significantly higher forces than females on convex elytra and flat glass, 1.2 times and 6.8 times, respectively. Convex substrates like elytra seem to improve the attachment ability of rosemary beetles, because they can hold more strongly due to favourable shear angles of legs, tarsi and adhesive setae. A self-aligning sample holder is found to be suitable for running force measurement tests with living biological samples.

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“…Previous suggestions for a sexually selected functional morphology of attachment devices were derived from a male-limited presence or male-specific geometry of attachment structures, or the observation that beetle males adhered to females during mating and mate guarding (Aiken and Khan, 1992;Bergsten et al, 2001;Voigt et al, 2008Voigt et al, , 2012Voigt et al, , 2017bVoigt et al, , 2019Karlsson Green et al, 2013;Gloyna et al, 2014). Larger attachment forces may benefit males in withstanding dislodging attempts by defensive body flicking movements of females (Reinhardt et al, 2009) or competing males (Schanz, 1953;Pelletier and Smilowitz, 1987;Voigt et al, 2008Voigt et al, , 2009.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for a sexually selected function of the attachment system in bedbugs Cimex lectularius (Heteroptera, Cimicidae)

Reinhardt

Voigt

Gorb

2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Attachment to surfaces is a major aspect of an animal's interaction with the environment. Consequently, shaping of the attachment system in relation to weight load and substrate is considered to have occurred mainly by natural selection. However, sexual selection may also be important because many animals attach to their partner during mating. The two hypotheses generate opposing predictions in species where males are smaller than females. Natural selection predicts that attachment ability will scale positively with load, and hence body size, and so will be larger in females than males. Sexual selection predicts attachment forces in males will be larger than those in females, despite the males' smaller size because males benefit from uninterrupted copulation by stronger attachment to the female. We tested these predictions in the common bedbug Cimex lectularius, a species in which both sexes, as well as nymphs, regularly carry large loads: blood meals of up to 3 times their body weight. By measuring attachment forces to smooth surfaces and analysing in situ fixed copulating pairs and the morphology of attachment devices, we show that: (i) males generate twice the attachment force of females, despite weighing 15% less; (ii) males adhere to females during copulation using hairy tibial adhesive pads; (iii) there are more setae, and more setae per unit area, in the pads of males than in those of females but there is no difference in the shape of the tarsal setae; and (iv) there is an absence of hairy tibial attachment pads and a low attachment force in nymphs. These results are consistent with a sexually selected function of attachment in bedbugs. Controlling sperm transfer and mate guarding by attaching to females during copulation may also shape the evolution of male attachment structures in other species. More generally, we hypothesise the existence of an arms race in terms of male attachment structures and female counterparts to impede attachment, which may result in a similar evolutionary diversification to male genitalia.

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New results on sexual differences in tarsal adhesive setae of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae)

Cited by 5 publications

References 19 publications

Framework with cytoskeletal actin filaments forming insect footpad hairs inspires biomimetic adhesive device design

Framework with cytoskeletal actin filaments forming insect footpad hairs inspires biomimetic adhesive device design

How tight are beetle hugs? Attachment in mating leaf beetles

Evidence for a sexually selected function of the attachment system in bedbugs Cimex lectularius (Heteroptera, Cimicidae)

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