Insect wings

Folic acid is a member of the vitamin B complex found in green plants, fresh fruit, yeast, and liver. Folic acid takes its name from folium, Latin for leaf. Pterin compounds are named from the Greek word for wing because these substances were first identified in insect wings. Two pterins are familiar to any child who has seen (and chased) the common yellow sulfur butterfly and its white counterpart, the cabbage butterfly. Xanthopterin and leu-... 

The common principle of these examples and in general for all bionic finishes is a successful and almost intelligent construction of sophisticated structures, for example like the special surfaces or poly-layers in spider hair, insect wings, butterfly scales or porous bone material. This principle is that material, which is often self organised, is used in small amounts for great efficiency in specific regions and not used where it is less important. 

In the present chapter, we will review natural superhydrophobic surfaces, such as plant leaves, bird feathers, insect wings and legs. There after, we will present the theory of superhydrophobicity and will review biomimetic superhydrophobic surfaces. 

In this section, superhydrophobic plant leaves, bird feathers, insect wings and legs are discussed. 

SPEM has also been used to reveal the lateral polarization distribution in the biopolymer ehitin, as found in insect wings. Revealing a pyroeleetric and possible piezoelectric response from both membrane and supporting veins (Fig. 26 Putzeys and Wiibbenhorst 2015b). 

Kokko, E.G., Floate, K.D., Colwell, D.D. and Lee, B. (1996) Measurement of fluctuating asymmetry in insect wings using image analysis. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 89 398-404. 

Tofilski, A. (2004) DrawWmg, a program for numerical description of insect wings. Journal of Insect Science, 4 1-5. 

Table 1 Microscale and Nanoscale Wax Crystal Morphologies on the Epidermal Cells of insect Wing Surfaces and Their Water Contact Angles ...

The superhydrophobicity of an insect wing surface and its ability to selfclean are very important factors that contribute to an insect s ability to survive. The nanoarray structures present on the surfaces of some insect wings such as those of the cicada and dragonfly afford the insect antireflective properties, which can assist in protecting them from attack from predators (Watson et al., 2008). The superhydrophobic and self-cleaning properties can assist to keep their surfaces clean and free from contaminants that may... 

Figure 2 Insect wings and their corresponding high-resolution scanning electron microscopic images (A-A2) Isoptera Nasutitermes sp. (B-B2) Orthoptera Acrida cinerea cinerea (C-C2) Hemiptera Meimuna opalifera. Watson etal. (2010), Byun etal. (2009).

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