Insects use lubricants to minimize friction and wear in leg joints.

A protein-based lubricating substance is discovered in the femoro-tibial joint of the darkling beetle (Insecta). The substance extrudes to the contacting areas within the joint and appears in a form of filiform flows and short cylindrical fragments. The extruded lubricating substance effectively reduces the coefficient of sliding friction to the value of 0.13 in the tribosystem . This value is significantly lower than 0.35 in the control tribosystem and comparable to the value of 0.14 for the tribosystem (polytetrafluoroethylene or Teflon). The study shows for the first time that the friction-reducing mechanism found in femoro-tibial joints is based on the lubricant spreading over the contacting surfaces rolling or moving at low loads and deforming at higher loads, preventing direct contact of joint counterparts. Besides , the lubricant has been found in the leg joints of the Argentinian wood roach .