Abstract
MANY insects possess adhesive organs (pulvilli, tarsal or tibial pads, etc.) which enable them to climb on perfectly clean glass. Presumably these organs function whenever the foot comes in contact with any surface, such as leaves or polished stones or the bodies of other insects, too smooth for the claws to grip. Miller has suggested1 that the ‘fossula spongiosa’ of adult Reduviids may have been developed for the purpose of holding the bodies of their prey ; Gillett and I2 suggested that it might be of use in holding theother sex during copulation.
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References
Miller, N. C. E., NATURE, 141, 749–750 (1938).
Gillett, J. D., and Wigglesworth, V. B., Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 111, 365–375 (1932).
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WIGGLESWORTH, V. ‘Climbing Organs’ in Insects. Nature 141, 974–975 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1038/141974c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/141974c0
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