van der Waals and hygroscopic forces of adhesion generated by spider capture threads

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dc.contributor.authorHawthorn, Anya C.en
dc.contributor.authorOpell, Brent D.en
dc.date.accessed2014-02-04en
dc.date.accessioned2014-02-07T18:29:39Zen
dc.date.available2014-02-07T18:29:39Zen
dc.date.issued2003-11en
dc.description.abstractCribellar thread is the most primitive type of sticky prey capture thread found in aerial spider webs. Its outer surface is formed of thousands of fine fibrils that issue from a cribellum spinning field. The fibrils of primitive cribellar thread are cylindrical, whereas those of derived threads have nodes. Cribellar threads snag on insect setae but also adhere to smooth surfaces. A previous study showed empirically that cylindrical fibrils use only van der Waals forces to stick to smooth surfaces, as their stickiness is the same under different humidity. By contrast, noded fibrils are stickier under high humidity, where they are presumed to adsorb atmospheric water and implement hygroscopic (capillary) adhesion. Here, we model thread stickiness according to these two adhesive mechanisms. These models equate stickiness with the force necessary to overcome the adhesion of fibril contact points in a narrow band along each edge of the contact surface and to initiate peeling of the thread from the surface. Modeled and measured thread stickiness values are similar, supporting the operation of the hypothesized adhesive forces and portraying an important transition in the evolution of spider threads. Cribellar threads initially relied only on van der Waals forces to stick to smooth surfaces. The appearance of fibril nodes introduced hydrophilic sites that implemented hygroscopic force and increased thread stickiness under intermediate and high humidity.en
dc.description.sponsorshipAmerican Arachnological Societyen
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Science Foundation IBN-9417803en
dc.description.sponsorshipVirginia Tech's Department of Biology and Graduate Research and Development Programen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationHawthorn, AC; Opell, BD. "van der Waals and hygroscopic forces of adhesion generated by spider capture threads," J Exp Biol 206, 3905-3911 (2003); doi: 10.1242/_jeb.00618en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.00618en
dc.identifier.issn0022-0949en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/25338en
dc.identifier.urlhttp://jeb.biologists.org/content/206/22/3905.full.pdf+htmlen
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherCompany of Biologistsen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectadhesionen
dc.subjectcapillary adhesionen
dc.subjectcribellar threaden
dc.subjectspider threaden
dc.subjecthypochilus pocockien
dc.subjecthyptiotes camtusen
dc.subjectORB-WEAVING SPIDERSen
dc.subjectFAMILY ULOBORIDAEen
dc.subjectSTICKINESSen
dc.subjectSILKen
dc.subjectEVOLUTIONen
dc.subjectCRIBELLUMen
dc.subjectFIBROINen
dc.subjectARANEAEen
dc.subjectPADSen
dc.subjectMECHANISMSen
dc.titlevan der Waals and hygroscopic forces of adhesion generated by spider capture threadsen
dc.title.serialJournal of Experimental Biologyen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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