Thermoelectric effect in hornet (Vespa orientalis) silk and thermoregulation in a hornet's nest

Ishay, Jacob S.; Barenholz‐Paniry, Vered

doi:10.1016/0022-1910(95)00034-r

Cited by 32 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This is due to a very high resistance of SCM, thus behaving more like an insulator, in a dry condition. A similar humidity-dependent boost in current has been previously reported for other natural biomaterials like the silk cap of hornet nest and cuticle of the oriental hornet24255354.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 83%

“…In conclusion, we wish to reiterate the fact that, we initiated our studies with the background information of few long forgotten papers of Jacob S Ishay244653 and came to a possible conclusion about our results, whose scientific roots goes back to the seminal publication of Theodor Grotthuss in 1806 ‘Theory of water conductivity’84 and the subsequent trail of studies during last one century on water mediated proton hopping in proteins777879.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

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Electricity from the Silk Cocoon Membrane

Tulachan

Meena

Kumar

et al. 2014

Sci Rep

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Silk cocoon membrane (SCM) is an insect engineered structure. We studied the electrical properties of mulberry (Bombyx mori) and non-mulberry (Tussar, Antheraea mylitta) SCM. When dry, SCM behaves like an insulator. On absorbing moisture, it generates electrical current, which is modulated by temperature. The current flowing across the SCM is possibly ionic and protonic in nature. We exploited the electrical properties of SCM to develop simple energy harvesting devices, which could operate low power electronic systems. Based on our findings, we propose that the temperature and humidity dependent electrical properties of the SCM could find applications in battery technology, bio-sensor, humidity sensor, steam engines and waste heat management.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Electricity from the Silk Cocoon Membrane

Tulachan

Meena

Kumar

et al. 2014

Sci Rep

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“…Thus cocoon membrane has an intrinsic temperature controlling system to offer a physiological temperature regime inside the cocoon. A thermoregulatory mechanism in hornet silk, hornet's nest, and in the cocoon of Bombyx mori was proposed earlier [9,20,21,28]. Our results are supporting the earlier finding.…”

Section: Thermoregulationsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Literature remain almost silent on the issue of such directional gaseous flow across the cocoon membrane [19]. Though temperature regulation studies have been attempted [9,20,21]. Therefore it is of great interest to understand this important feature of cocoon which impart a conducive environment for the survival of the pupa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbondioxide Gating in Silk Cocoon

Roy¹,

Meena²,

Kusurkar³

et al. 2012

Biointerphases

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Silk is the generic name given to the fibrous proteins spun by a number of arthropods. During metamorphosis, the larva of the silk producing arthropods excrete silk-fiber from its mouth and spun it around the body to form a protective structure called cocoon. An adult moth emerges out from the cocoon after the dormant phase (pupal phase) varying from 2 weeks to 9 months. It is intriguing how CO 2 /O 2 and ambient temperature are regulated inside the cocoon during the development of the pupa. Here we show that the cocoon membrane is asymmetric, it allows preferential gating of CO 2 from inside to outside and it regulates a physiological temperature inside the cocoon irrespective of the surrounding environment temperature. We demonstrate that under simulating CO 2 rich external environment, the CO 2 does not diffuse inside the cocoon. Whereas, when CO 2 was injected inside the cocoon, it diffuses out in 20 s, indicating gating of CO 2 from inside to outside the membrane. Removal of the calcium oxalate hydrate crystals which are naturally present on the outer surface of the cocoon affected the complete blockade of CO 2 flow from outside to inside suggesting its role to trap most of the CO 2 as hydrogen bonded bicarbonate on the surface. The weaved silk of the cocoon worked as the second barrier to prevent residual CO 2 passage. Furthermore, we show that under two extreme natural temperature regime of 5 and 50°C, a temperature of 25 and 34°C respectively were maintained inside the cocoons. Our results demonstrate, how CO 2 gating and thermoregulation helps in maintaining an ambient atmosphere inside the cocoon for the growth of pupa. Such natural architectural control of gas and temperature regulation could be helpful in developing energy saving structures and gas filters.

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“…According to Himmer (1931), nest temperature of Vespula vulgaris is precisely controlled during July and August, and then the thermoregulatory ability gradually drops as the colony declines. In a mature nest of Vespa orientalis under a desert climate in Israel, the internal temperature is maintained at a constant 28°C throughout the day in spite of a large fluctuation of the ambient temperature from 18°C to 38°C (Ishay and Barenholz-Paniry 1999). From the results of trial 1 and 2, however, the thermoregulatory activities in Polybia wasps seem to be very small and even negligible at least under the observed conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%