Biomechanics of the insect bite apparatus

Leaf-cutter ants are the primary herbivore in the Neotropical rainforests. Given their small body size, this is a rather extraordinary achievement, which requires a specialised bite apparatus to overcome the mechanical difficulty of leaf-cutting. In my PhD, I quantified the level of specialisation to leaf-cut using a variety of biomechanical models and methods including tomographic image analysis, in-vivo bite force measurements, and mandibular cutting force experiments. Leaf-cutter ants can generate among the largest size-specific bite forces ever measured – a feat of strength enabled by large mandible closer muscles, a muscle fibre arrangement close to a theoretical optimum, and exceptionally high muscle stresses. In combination with sharp mandibles that cut with lower forces than pristine scalpel blades, even leaf-cutter ants as light as a few milligrams can cut tough tropical leaves.

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Meeting-ID: 989 6099 9390
Kenncode: Bionik

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Bionik-Seminar