To test the role of constructional and dimensional factors in the generation of friction force by systems of setose attachment pads, six species of syrphid fly (Platycheirus angustatus, Sphaerophoria scripta, Episyrphus balteatus, Eristalis tenax, Myathropa florea and Volucella pellucens) were studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. Flies were selected according to their various body mass and attachment pad dimensions. Such variables as pad area, setal density, the area of a single setal tip and body mass were individually measured. A centrifugal force tester, equipped with a fibre-optic sensor, was used to measure the friction forces of the pads on a smooth horizontal surface made of polyvinylchloride. Friction force, which is the resistance force of the insect mass against the sum of centrifugal and tangential forces, was greater in heavier insects such as Er. tenax, M. florea and V. pellucens. Although lighter species generated lower frictional forces, the acceleration required to detach an insect was greater in smaller species. The area of attachment pads, setal tip area and setal density differed significantly in the species studied, and the dependence of these variables on body mass was significant. The frictional properties of the material of the setal tips were not dependent on the dimensions of the fly species. Similar results were obtained for the frictional properties of the pulvillus as a whole. Thus, the properties of the secretion and the mechanical properties of the material of the setal tips are approximately constant among the species studied. It is concluded that differences in friction force must be related mainly to variations in the real contact area generated by the pad on the smooth surface. The real contact area can be estimated as the summed area of the broadened setal tips of the pad in contact with the surface. The real contact area depends on such morphological variables as setal density and the area of a single setal tip. Although individual variables vary among flies with different dimensions, they usually compensate such that smaller setal tip area is partially compensated for by higher setal density.
Celebrating 100 years of discovery
We are proud to be celebrating 100 years of discovery in Journal of Experimental Biology. Visit our centenary webpage to find out more about how we are marking this historic milestone.
Craig Franklin launches our centenary celebrations
Editor-in-Chief Craig Franklin reflects on 100 years of JEB and looks forward to our centenary celebrations, including a supplementary special issue, a new early-career researcher interview series and the launch of our latest funding initiatives.
Looking back on the first issue of JEB
Journal of Experimental Biology launched in 1923 as The British Journal of Experimental Biology. As we celebrate our centenary, we look back at that first issue and the zoologists publishing their work in the new journal.
Biology Communication Workshop: Engaging the world in the excitement of research
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We are delighted to be sponsoring a Biology Communication Workshop for early-career researchers as part of JEB’s centenary celebrations. The workshop focuses on how to effectively communicate your science to other researchers and the public and takes place the day before the CSZ annual meeting, on 14 May 2023. Find out more and apply here.
Mexican fruit flies wave for distraction
Dinesh Rao and colleagues have discovered that Mexican fruit flies vanish in a blur in the eyes of predatory spiders when they wave their wings at the arachnids, buying the flies time to make their escape.
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