Insects did it first: a micropatterned adhesive tape for robotic applications.

Based on the structural and experimental studies of more than 300 insect species from different lineages, we have developed and characterized a bioinspired polymer material with the ability of multiple glue-free bonding and debonding. The material surface is covered with a pattern of microstructures, which resembles the geometry of tenent hairs previously described from the feet of flies, beetles, earwigs and other insects. The tape with such a microstructure pattern demonstrates at least two times higher pull-off force per unit apparent contact area compared to the flat polymer.

Biomimetic mushroom-shaped fibrillar adhesive microstructure.

To improve the adhesive properties of artificial fibrillar contact structures, the attachment systems of beetles from the family Chrysomelidae were chosen to serve as a model. Biomimetic mushroom-shaped fibrillar adhesive microstructure inspired by these systems was characterized using a variety of measurement techniques and compared with a control flat surface made of the same material. Results revealed that pull-off force and peel strength of the structured specimens are more than twice those of the flat specimens.

Material structure, stiffness, and adhesion: why attachment pads of the grasshopper (Tettigonia viridissima) adhere more strongly than those of the locust (Locusta migratoria) (Insecta: Orthoptera).

The morphology, ultrastructure, effective elastic modulus, and adhesive properties of two different smooth-type attachment pads were studied in two orthopteran species. Tettigonia viridissima (Ensifera) and Locusta migratoria (Caelifera) have a similar structural organization of their attachment pads. They both possess a flexible exocuticle, where the cuticular fibrils are fused into relatively large rods oriented at an angle to the surface.

Influence of surface roughness on adhesion between elastic bodies.

We study the influence of surface roughness on the adhesion between elastic solids. We present experimental data for the force necessary to pull off rubber balls from hard rough substrates. We show that the effective adhesion (or the pull-off force) can be calculated accurately from the surface roughness power spectra obtained from the measured surface height profile.

Structure and properties of the glandular surface in the digestive zone of the pitcher in the carnivorous plant Nepenthes ventrata and its role in insect trapping and retention.

Carnivorous plants of the genus Nepenthes grow in nutrient-poor habitats and have evolved specialised trapping organs, known as pitchers. These are composed of different surface zones serving the functions of attraction, capture and digestion of insects, which represent a main source of nitrogen. To investigate the role of the glandular digestive zone in the trapping mechanism of the pitcher, structural, mechanical and physico-chemical studies were applied to N.