Attachment Devices of Insect Cuticle

Front Cover
Springer Science & Business Media, Aug 31, 2001 - Nature - 305 pages
In 1974 when I published my book, Biological Mechanism of Attachment, not many pages were required to report on the attachment devices of insect cuticles. As in most fields of research, our knowledge on this specific subject has simply exploded. Dr. Stanislav N. Gorb now describes the present day level of our knowledge, to which he has personally contributed so much, and a research team working on biological microtribology has gradually developed, also. With modern methods of measurement it is possible to enter the structure – function relationship much more deeply, even down to a molecular level, which was not possible two and a half decades ago. It is a well known fact that, in biology, the more sophisticated the measuring method, the greater the achievement of biological fundamental research, and its resulting evidence. Our knowledge remains at a certain level until new methods once more permit a forward leap. Biological knowledge develops in the form of a stepped curve rather than linear, as reflected in the studies carried out on the attachment devices of insect cuticles.
 

Contents

structure and properties of the material
9
Cuticular protuberances of insects
21
Principles of cuticular attachment in Arthropoda
37
Frictional systems
77
Dragonfly and damselfly headarresting system
89
Intersegmental frictional devices
101
Winglocking devices
123
Attachment pads
135
Protuberances and their fields
197
Sensory equipment
213
The evolution of frictional systems
221
Ecological implications
235
Natures design as a basis for biomimetics
253
References
263
Index
289
Copyright

Secretions in frictional systems
177

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