This was a brand-new project for the ABCLAb in 2020. Read more about how we started here. Insect wings exhibit nano- and micro- features that give the surface unique properties (e.g., hydrophobicity, antimicrobial activity, and (anti-)reflectivity). Leafhopper insects (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) produce and spread nanoscale, lipid-protein granules, called brochosomes, onto their bodies through various grooming behaviors. Although the exact purpose of brochosomes is still unknown, it is hypothesized that they help the insects to stay dry, clean, and camouflaged. We are currently investigating the morphology and wettability of brochosomes from various leafhopper species as well as their mechanical properties. This exploration will further inform the guided design of novel materials involving particle based systems.
Project Lead: Elizabeth Bello
Collaborators
- Dr. Charles Schroeder – Schroeder Group – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Dr. Nenad Miljkovic – Energy Transport Research Lab – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The photograph below shows a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of brochosomes on the wing a Curtara insularis leafhopper taken by Elizabeth Bello.
Publications
- Nanostructure-derived anti-reflectivity in leafhopper brochosomes. 2023. Progna Banerjee, Gabriel R. Burks, Sarah B. Bialik, Mostafa Nassr, Elizabeth Bello, Marianne Alleyne, Benny D. Freeman, Jeffrey E. Barrick, Charles M. Schroeder, Delia J. Milliron. Advanced Photonics Research. DOI: 10.1002/adpr.202200343
- Insect-Scale Jumping Robots Enabled By A Dynamic Buckling Cascade. 2022. Yuzhe Wang, Qiong Wang, Mingchao Liu, Yimeng Qin, Liuyang Cheng, Ophelia Bolmin, Marianne Alleyne, Aimy Wissa, Ray H. Baughman, Dominic Vella, Sameh H. Tawfick. Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences of the United States of America. V120(5), e22106511 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210651120
- Staying Dry and Clean: An Insects’s Guide to Hydrophobicity. 2023, Elizabeth Bello, Yutao Chen, and Marianne Alleyne. Insects, V14(1), 42. DOI: 10.3390/insects14010042 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Contributions of Women in Insect Science)
- Electron Tomography and Machine Learning for Understanding the Highly Ordered Structure of Leafhopper Brochosomes. 2022. Gabriel R. Burks, Lehan Yao, Falon C. Kalutantirige, Kyle J. Gray, Elizabeth Bello, Shreyas Rajagopalan, Sarah B. Bialik, Jeffrey E. Barrick, Marianne Alleyne, Qian Chen, and Charles M. Schroeder. ACS Biomacromolecules. DOI:10.1021/acs.biomac.2c010
Check out these amazing pictures of leafhoppers by Alexander Wild (UT Austin) by clicking on the thumbnail below.
Or how about a video of closely related treehoppers hopping by Adrian Smith (NC State)?