Sun Jiyu, Liu Chao, Bhushan Bharat, Wu Wei, Tong Jin
Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), Jilin University, Changchun, 130022, P.R. China.
Nanoprobe Laboratory for Bio- & Nanotechnology and Biomimetics (NLB2), The Ohio State University, 201 W. 19th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1142, USA.
Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2018 Mar 6;9:812-823. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.9.75. eCollection 2018.
The hindwings of beetles are folded under the elytra when they are at rest but are extended during flight, which can provide bioinspiration for the design of deployable micro air vehicles (MAVs). Beetle hindwings must be able to be both securely locked under the elytra and freely extended for flight, depending on the required action. To investigate the locking mechanism, this study used environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) to examine the microstructures of the elytra, hindwings and abdomen of the Asian ladybeetle, (Pallas, 1773). On the ventral side (VS) of the elytra, the microtrichia show a transitional structure from the lateral edge to the medial edge. On the hindwing surface, the folded regions were observed on both the dorsal side (DS) and the VS. On the abdomen, the microtrichia between the abdominal segments show a cyclical change from sparse to dense in each segment in the middle of the abdomen. Furthermore, the different directions of microtrichia that lead to self-locking friction on the surfaces of the hindwing, elytron and abdomen appear to facilitate interlocking. A model for the interlocking of the hindwings of the was established, and its underlying mechanism is discussed.
甲虫静止时，其后翅折叠在鞘翅下方，但在飞行时会展开，这可为可展开微型飞行器（MAV）的设计提供生物启发。甲虫后翅必须能够根据所需动作，既安全地锁定在鞘翅下方，又能自由展开用于飞行。为了研究锁定机制，本研究使用环境扫描电子显微镜（ESEM）检查了异色瓢虫（Pallas，1773）的鞘翅、后翅和腹部的微观结构。在鞘翅的腹侧（VS），微刚毛从外侧边缘到内侧边缘呈现出过渡结构。在后翅表面，在背侧（DS）和VS上均观察到折叠区域。在腹部，腹部节段之间的微刚毛在腹部中部的每个节段中呈现出从稀疏到密集的周期性变化。此外，后翅、鞘翅和腹部表面上导致自锁摩擦的微刚毛不同方向似乎有助于相互锁定。建立了异色瓢虫后翅互锁模型，并讨论了其潜在机制。
