The Leaf Beetle has tiny hairs on its feet that allow it to have amazing climbing abilities

Some insects, lizards and spiders are amazing climbers, what gives them this super power? Well their incredible feet sure do help!
Dock beetle
The tiny hairs (called setae) on the leaf beetle’s feet come in three different shapes; pointed, flat and disk-like each arranged in patterns across the feet. Researchers at the University of Cambridge, England believe that it is this combination of hairs and the different amount of force that is needed to peel them off of things that lets the beetle stick so well. It is hoped that by looking more closely at how these different hairs are used we can develop better nature inspired adhesives or sticky things. It may still be awhile before you can buy beetle feet tape from the store but you can go check out other amazing nature inspired designs like Velcro.

http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=100100&CultureCode=en

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20 COMMENTS

  1. it’s absolutely beautiful. I love the colour green and it’s shiny coat. I think it would be cool to had hairs on my feet like a beetle, because I would be really good at climbing trees, or mountains. Plus, it would be cool to stick to things that I want to stay on. Don’t you think so?

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