Mingxia Sun

TL;DR: Investigating the wettability of forewings of 15 species of cicadas, with distinctly different wetting properties related to their nanostructures, offers insights into the diversity of nanostructure and how subtle small-scale changes may facilitate large changes in wettable.

TL;DR: This study shows that the planthopper insect wing exhibits a remarkable architectural similarity to the lotus leaf surface, and its cuticle provides a "new" natural surface with which numerous interfacial properties can be explored for a range of comparative studies with both natural and man-made materials.

TL;DR: The nanoscale protrusions of different morphologies on wing surfaces of four cicada species were examined under an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and adhesive forces in combination with the Cassie-Baxter and Wenzel approximations were used to predict wetting states of the insect wing cuticles.

TL;DR: The transmittance properties of cicada wings were altered successfully through the scanning probe microscope-based manipulation by reducing the protrusion height via the contact mode, and a near linear dependence was found between a decrease in protuberance height and a resulting increase in reflectance intensity.

TL;DR: The results provide insights into the motion of water droplets when in contact with beetle elytra and effects on hydrophobicity, such as surface microstructures, chemistry, environment and aging are included and discussed.