Microscopic hooked hairs (trichomes) on kidney bean leaves can make a temporarily insect snare permanently irreversible by impaling the trichomes into the insects legs.
Watch Bed Bugs Get Stopped in their Tracks
“Resurgence in bed bug infestations and widespread pesticide resistance have greatly renewed interest in the development of more sustainable, environmentally friendly methods to manage bed bugs. Historically, in Eastern Europe, bed bugs were entrapped by leaves from bean plants, which were then destroyed; this purely physical entrapment was related to microscopic hooked hairs (trichomes) on the leaf surfaces. (…) we documented the capture mechanism: the physical impaling of bed bug feet (tarsi) by these trichomes. This is distinct from a Velcro-like mechanism of non-piercing entanglement, which only momentarily holds the bug without sustained capture. Struggling, trapped bed bugs are impaled by trichomes on several legs and are unable to free themselves. (…) Using bean leaves as templates, we microfabricated surfaces indistinguishable in geometry from the real leaves (…). These synthetic surfaces snag the bed bugs temporarily but do not hinder their locomotion as effectively as real leaves.”
The team is working on improving bug-snaring capabilities for more permament capture.
<Megan W. Szyndler, Kenneth F. Haynes, Michael F. Potter, Robert M. Corn and Catherine Loudon Published 10 April 2013 doi: 10.1098/rsif.2013.0174 J. R. Soc. Interface 6 June 2013 vol. 10 no. 83 20130174 >
http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/10/83/20130174.full?sid=f1f3d021-8e42-4997-b96b-0c3fb66bb6cf
Entrapment of bed bugs by leaf trichomes inspires microfabrication of biomimetic surfaces
Megan W. Szyndler1,
Kenneth F. Haynes3,
Michael F. Potter3,
Robert M. Corn1 and
Catherine Loudon2?
Published 10 April 2013 doi: 10.1098/?rsif.2013.0174 J. R. Soc. Interface 6 June 2013 vol. 10 no. 83 20130174
Abstract
