By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News
Scientists in Taiwan have revealed how a diving beetle hangs on to its mate underwater.
The micro-scale study revealed how bristles on male beetles' legs attach to females with tiny suckers or spatulas.
As well as shedding light on evolution at a minute scale, understanding this could inspire the design of devices for underwater attachment in engineering.
The team, led by Dr Kai-Jung Chi from National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan, directly measured the gripping force of the "attachment devices" on the leg bristles of two diving beetle species.
The efficiency of this underwater attachment, Dr Chi explained, was vital for the survival of the beetle.
"Once mating completes, the male has to separate from the female to get oxygen from the water surface or otherwise it may die," she told BBC News.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!