Terminal contact elements of insect attachment devices studied by transmission X-ray microscopy

For the first time, the terminal elements (spatulae) of setal (hairy) attachment devices of the beetle Gastrophysa viridula (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) and the fly Lucilia caesar (Diptera, Calliphoridae) were studied using transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) with a lateral resolution of about 30 nm....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of experimental biology Vol. 211; no. Pt 12; pp. 1958 - 1963
Main Authors Eimüller, T, Guttmann, P, Gorb, S N
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 15.06.2008
Subjects
Animals
Biomechanical Phenomena
Calliphoridae
Chrysomelidae
Coleoptera
Coleoptera - ultrastructure
Diptera
Diptera - ultrastructure
Extremities - diagnostic imaging
Gastrophysa viridula
Lucilia
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission - methods
Radiography
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Summary:For the first time, the terminal elements (spatulae) of setal (hairy) attachment devices of the beetle Gastrophysa viridula (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) and the fly Lucilia caesar (Diptera, Calliphoridae) were studied using transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) with a lateral resolution of about 30 nm. Since images are taken under ambient conditions, we demonstrate here that this method can be applied to study the contact behaviour of biological systems, including animal tenent setae, in a fresh state. We observed that the attached spatulae show a viscoelastic behavior increasing the contact area and providing improved adaptability to the local topography of the surface. The technique can be extended to TXM tomography, which would provide three-dimensional information and a deeper insight into the details of insect attachment structures.
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ISSN:0022-0949
1477-9145
DOI:10.1242/jeb.014308