Insects use hairy or smooth adhesive pads to stick to almost all known surfaces. Although studied for more than 300 years, the principles of insect adhesion are still not fully understood. This ‘Hot Highlight article’ summarizes recent advances in the understanding of fluid-based insect adhesion and highlights the large number of unresolved questions, regarding the mechanism of fluid secretion, the thickness of the mediating fluid layer, and the influence of surface properties on insect adhesive forces.
Fluid-based adhesion in insects – principles and challenges
Jan-Henning Dirks and Walter Federle
Soft Matter, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1SM06269G
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