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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Sharpshooter insect flings a flotilla of pee droplets with ease

An insect that subsists on low-energy food has found an efficient way to rid itself of large volumes of waste.
A sharpshooter sits on a green plant while flinging its pee

A sharpshooter hurls droplets of waste from its anal stylus. Credit: Elio Challita, Bhamla Lab

Sap-sucking insects called sharpshooters eject up to 300 times their body weight in liquid waste each day thanks to an energy-saving technique known as superpropulsion1.

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Nature 615, 191 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00565-5

References

  1. Challita, E. J., Sehgal, P., Krugner, R. & Bhamla, S. Nature Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36376-5 (2023).

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