Biomechanical properties of fishing lines of the glowworm Arachnocampa luminosa (Diptera; Keroplatidae)

Scientific Reports
Janek von ByernStanislav Gorb

Abstract

Animals use adhesive secretions in highly diverse ways, such as for settlement, egg anchorage, mating, active or passive defence, etc. One of the most interesting functions is the use of bioadhesives to capture prey, as the bonding has to be performed within milliseconds and often under unfavourable conditions. While much is understood about the adhesive and biomechanical properties of the threads of other hunters such as spiders, barely anything is documented about those of the New Zealand glowworm Arachnocampa luminosa. We analysed tensile properties of the fishing lines of the New Zealand glowworm Arachnocampa luminosa under natural and dry conditions and measured their adhesion energy to different surfaces. The capture system of A. luminosa is highly adapted to the prevailing conditions (13-15 °C, relative humidity of 98%) whereby the wet fishing lines only show a bonding ability at high relative humidity (>80%) with a mean adhesive energy from 20-45 N/m and a stronger adhesion to polar surfaces. Wet threads show a slightly higher breaking strain value than dried threads, whereas the tensile strength of wet threads was much lower. The analyses show that breaking stress and strain values in Arachnocampa luminosa were very lo...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 6, 2021·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Weizhen SunXiubo Zhao
Jul 3, 2021·Molecules : a Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry·Dakota PiorkowskiDeborah M Kane

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