How Non-stick Bugs Evade Natural Fly Paper
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 11:21
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Most insects landing on the natural fly paper plant, Roridula grogonias, are in for a sticky end. However, mirid bugs that make the sticky plants their homes seem immune to the alluring adhesive. So what protects mirid bugs from R. gorgonias' fatal grasp? Dagmar Voigt and Stansilav Gorb from the Max-Planck Institute for Metals Research have found that the bugs are covered in a thick greasy nonstick coating that shrugs gorgonias glue off.