Meniscus ascent by thrips (Thysanoptera).
Meniscus climbing using a fixed body posture has been well documented for various aquatic and neustonic insects, but is not known from small flying insects that inadvertently become trapped on water surfaces. Here, we show that thrips (order Thysanoptera) can ascend a meniscus by arching their non-wetting bodies to translate head-first and upward along a water surface; if initially oriented backwards, they can turn by 180° to ascend head-first, and climb upward on a surrounding boundary. Using variable-concentration sucrose solutions, we show that translational and climbing speeds during meniscus ascent vary inversely with fluid viscosity. Becoming trapped in water is a frequent event for flying insects, and given that most of them are very small, dedicated behaviours to escape water may be commonplace among pterygotes.
Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA ornithopterus@gmail.com.
Victor Manuel
0000-0003-0024-5086
VM
Ortega-Jiménez
Department of Land, air and water resources, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Sarahi
0000-0003-1472-1151
S
Arriaga-Ramirez
Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama.
Robert
0000-0003-3707-5682
R
Dudley
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D008124:Locomotion; D013395:Sucrose / Q000737:chemistry; D061149:Thysanoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D014783:Viscosity; D014867:Water
D014867:Water; D013395:Sucrose
locomotion; terrestrial insects; viscosity; water surface