Droplet superpropulsion in an energetically constrained insect
Abstract Food consumption and waste elimination are vital functions for living systems. Although how feeding impacts animal form and function has been studied for more than a century since Darwin, how its obligate partner, excretion, controls and constrains animal behavior, size, and energetics rema...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36376-5 |
| _version_ | 1797774093437632512 |
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| author | Elio J. Challita Prateek Sehgal Rodrigo Krugner M. Saad Bhamla |
| author_facet | Elio J. Challita Prateek Sehgal Rodrigo Krugner M. Saad Bhamla |
| author_sort | Elio J. Challita |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Food consumption and waste elimination are vital functions for living systems. Although how feeding impacts animal form and function has been studied for more than a century since Darwin, how its obligate partner, excretion, controls and constrains animal behavior, size, and energetics remains largely unexplored. Here we study millimeter-scale sharpshooter insects (Cicadellidae) that feed exclusively on a plant’s xylem sap, a nutrient-deficit source (95% water). To eliminate their high-volume excreta, these insects exploit droplet superpropulsion, a phenomenon in which an elastic projectile can achieve higher velocity than the underlying actuator through temporal tuning. We combine coupled-oscillator models, computational fluid dynamics, and biophysical experiments to show that these insects temporally tune the frequency of their anal stylus to the Rayleigh frequency of their surface tension-dominated elastic drops as a single-shot resonance mechanism. Our model predicts that for these tiny insects, the superpropulsion of droplets is energetically cheaper than forming jets, enabling them to survive on an extreme energy-constrained xylem-sap diet. The principles and limits of superpropulsion outlined here can inform designs of energy-efficient self-cleaning structures and soft engines to generate ballistic motions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:16:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8594aff75b2e4f40919741c32317aa5b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:16:01Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-8594aff75b2e4f40919741c32317aa5b2023-07-23T11:19:32ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-02-011411910.1038/s41467-023-36376-5Droplet superpropulsion in an energetically constrained insectElio J. Challita0Prateek Sehgal1Rodrigo Krugner2M. Saad Bhamla3School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of TechnologySchool of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of TechnologyUnited States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences CenterSchool of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of TechnologyAbstract Food consumption and waste elimination are vital functions for living systems. Although how feeding impacts animal form and function has been studied for more than a century since Darwin, how its obligate partner, excretion, controls and constrains animal behavior, size, and energetics remains largely unexplored. Here we study millimeter-scale sharpshooter insects (Cicadellidae) that feed exclusively on a plant’s xylem sap, a nutrient-deficit source (95% water). To eliminate their high-volume excreta, these insects exploit droplet superpropulsion, a phenomenon in which an elastic projectile can achieve higher velocity than the underlying actuator through temporal tuning. We combine coupled-oscillator models, computational fluid dynamics, and biophysical experiments to show that these insects temporally tune the frequency of their anal stylus to the Rayleigh frequency of their surface tension-dominated elastic drops as a single-shot resonance mechanism. Our model predicts that for these tiny insects, the superpropulsion of droplets is energetically cheaper than forming jets, enabling them to survive on an extreme energy-constrained xylem-sap diet. The principles and limits of superpropulsion outlined here can inform designs of energy-efficient self-cleaning structures and soft engines to generate ballistic motions.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36376-5 |
| spellingShingle | Elio J. Challita Prateek Sehgal Rodrigo Krugner M. Saad Bhamla Droplet superpropulsion in an energetically constrained insect Nature Communications |
| title | Droplet superpropulsion in an energetically constrained insect |
| title_full | Droplet superpropulsion in an energetically constrained insect |
| title_fullStr | Droplet superpropulsion in an energetically constrained insect |
| title_full_unstemmed | Droplet superpropulsion in an energetically constrained insect |
| title_short | Droplet superpropulsion in an energetically constrained insect |
| title_sort | droplet superpropulsion in an energetically constrained insect |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36376-5 |
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