Amador Guillermo J, Matherne Marguerite, Waller D'Andre, Mathews Megha, Gorb Stanislav N, Hu David L
School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Bioinspir Biomim. 2017 Mar 23;12(2):026015. doi: 10.1088/1748-3190/aa5c6e.
While insect grooming has been observed and documented for over one hundred years, we present the first quantitative analysis of this highly dynamic process. Pollinating insects, like honey bees, purposely cover themselves with millions of pollen particles that, if left ungroomed, would make sensing and controlled flight difficult. How do they get clean? We show that the hairs on insect eyes are tuned to the pollen they collect; namely, the hairs are spaced so that they suspend pollen above the body for easy removal by the forelegs. In turn, hair spacing on the foreleg dictates the leg's ability to store the pollen removed during each swipe. In tests with wax-covered honey bees, we show that hairy forelegs are necessary for pollen removal. Moreover, the viscous fluid found on the surface of pollen grains, or pollenkitt, greatly enhances adhesion. We find that bees accumulate twice as much pollen if pollenkitt is present. This study may help further understand pollination, as well as inform designs for mechanically-sensitive functional surfaces with micro- and nano-structures that are easier to keep clean.
虽然昆虫梳理行为已被观察和记录了一百多年，但我们首次对这一高度动态的过程进行了定量分析。授粉昆虫，如蜜蜂，会故意让自己身上沾满数百万颗花粉颗粒，如果不进行梳理，这些花粉会使它们难以感知和控制飞行。它们是如何清洁的呢？我们发现昆虫眼睛上的毛发与它们收集的花粉相适配；也就是说，毛发的间距使得花粉悬浮在身体上方，便于前腿将其清除。反过来，前腿上毛发的间距决定了腿部在每次挥动时储存清除花粉的能力。在对涂蜡蜜蜂的测试中，我们发现有毛的前腿对于清除花粉是必要的。此外，在花粉粒表面发现的粘性液体，即花粉油，极大地增强了附着力。我们发现，如果存在花粉油，蜜蜂积累的花粉量会增加一倍。这项研究可能有助于进一步理解授粉过程，也可为设计具有更易保持清洁的微纳结构的机械敏感功能表面提供参考。
