000K utf8 1100 $c2022 1500 eng 2050 urn:nbn:de:gbv:8:3-2024-00393-5 2051 10.1007/s00435-022-00561-9 3000 Gorb, Stanislav 3010 Büsse, Sebastian 3010 Kohl, Stefan 3010 Wildermuth, Hansruedi 4000 Tarsal attachment structures of the biting midge Forcipomyia paludis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), a specialized ectoparasite of Odonata imagines$hSpringer Science and Business Media LLC [Gorb, Stanislav] 4030 $nSpringer Science and Business Media LLC 4209 The female of the biting midge Forcipomyia paludis is a dipteran ectoparasite of West Palaearctic damselflies and dragonflies, sucking haemolymph mainly from wing veins of their hosts. This tiny midge remains firmly attached to the wings even during fast flight and aerial fight maneuvers as shown in the present paper by field studies of the large dragonfly, Cordulegaster boltonii. Since individuals of F. paludis firmly attach themselves to the challenging wing surface of their host and can successfully withstand drag and vibrations during flight, we assume that this midge species has specific microstructural adaptations on its legs for attaching to the wing surface. In our morphological study, we used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), to study the structure of F. paludis tarsi, as well as the micro morphology of the wing surfaces of their host. Additionally, for the first time, we were able to show attachment devices of the midges dried out in contact with the host’s surface. The spatulae of the plantar setae and especially the empodial setae, are capable of replicating nanoscale wax crystals of the super hydrophobic wing coverage of the dragonfly wing membrane, in order to increase an effective contact area and therefore adhesion. This ability requires extremely soft materials of the spatula, which seems to be rather unique even in comparison to the leg attachment devices of other dipterans and other insect taxa in general. 4950 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-022-00561-9$xR$3Volltext$534 4950 https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:8:3-2024-00393-5$xR$3Volltext$534 4961 https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/macau_mods_00004678 5051 590 5550 Adhesion 5550 Anisoptera 5550 Attachment 5550 Biting midge 5550 Parasitism 5550 Tarsus 5550 Zygoptera