title: Bioreplicated visual features of nanofabricated buprestid beetle decoys evoke stereotypical male mating flights.
abstract: Recent advances in nanoscale bioreplication processes present the potential for novel basic and applied research into organismal behavioral processes. Insect behavior potentially could be affected by physical features existing at the nanoscale level. We used nano-bioreplicated visual decoys of female emerald ash borer beetles (Agrilus planipennis) to evoke stereotypical mate-finding behavior, whereby males fly to and alight on the decoys as they would on real females. Using an industrially scalable nanomolding process, we replicated and evaluated the importance of two features of the outer cuticular surface of the beetle's wings: structural interference coloration of the elytra by multilayering of the epicuticle and fine-scale surface features consisting of spicules and spines that scatter light into intense strands. Two types of decoys that lacked one or both of these elements were fabricated, one type nano-bioreplicated and the other 3D-printed with no bioreplicated surface nanostructural elements. Both types were colored with green paint. The light-scattering properties of the nano-bioreplicated surfaces were verified by shining a white laser on the decoys in a dark room and projecting the scattering pattern onto a white surface. Regardless of the coloration mechanism, the nano-bioreplicated decoys evoked the complete attraction and landing sequence of Agrilus males. In contrast, males made brief flying approaches toward the decoys without nanostructured features, but diverted away before alighting on them. The nano-bioreplicated decoys were also electroconductive, a feature used on traps such that beetles alighting onto them were stunned, killed, and collected.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Entomology, mjd29@psu.edu tcb10@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3055-3533
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Domingue
authors.affiliation: Engineering Science and Mechanics.
authors.forename: Akhlesh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lakhtakia
authors.affiliation: Engineering Science and Mechanics.
authors.forename: Drew P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Pulsifer
authors.affiliation: Departments of Entomology.
authors.forename: Loyal P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Chemistry, and.
authors.forename: John V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Badding
authors.affiliation: Chemistry, and.
authors.forename: Jesse L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bischof
authors.affiliation: Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Raúl J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Martín-Palma
authors.affiliation: Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-3232 Budapest, Hungary;
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Imrei
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Protection, Forest Research Institute, H-1022 Mátrafüred, Hungary;
authors.forename: Gergely
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Janik
authors.affiliation: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology, US Department of Agriculture, Buzzards Bay, MA 02542; and.
authors.forename: Victor C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Mastro
authors.affiliation: Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences Microscope Facilities, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802.
authors.forename: Missy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hazen
authors.affiliation: Departments of Entomology, mjd29@psu.edu tcb10@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D040761:Biomimetic Materials; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D003116:Color; D005260:Female; D005426:Flight, Animal; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D049329:Nanostructures; D036103:Nanotechnology; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior; D014785:Vision, Ocular
keywords: nanofabrication; spectral emission; structural color; supercontinuum laser; visual response