Butterfly Wings Conceal Hidden Structures That Destroys 'Deadly' Raindrops

[Judi Lynn]

(Kim et al., PNAS, 2020)
NATURE

TESSA KOUMOUNDOUROS 14 JUNE 2020

For humans, getting whacked in the face by heavy raindrops is a mere annoyance. But for tiny and delicate organisms - like butterflies - drops of rainwater are the equivalent of a person being pummelled by bowling balls falling from the sky. Ouch.

"[Getting hit with] raindrops is the most dangerous event for this kind of small animal," said biological and environmental engineer Sunghwan "Sunny" Jung, from Cornell University in New York.

Jung explains that the force of impact alone isn't the only problem raindrops can cause for fragile living things. Rain wreaks havoc on insects' flight momentum and can strip birds of their warmth, so limiting time in contact with each raindrop is critical for many animals.

Seungho Kim, Jung and colleagues took a closer look at how different animals and plants mitigate this potential danger. They used a high-speed camera capturing between 5,000 and 20,000 frames per second to observe the impact of water falling onto butterflies, moths, dragonflies, gannet feathers, and katsura leaves.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/butterfly-wings-have-secret-weapons-to-shatter-pummelling-raindrops

[tblue37]

1. K&R and thanks! nt

[pansypoo53219]

2. bees?

[Karadeniz]

3. The things that never occur to us! Thanks for sharing!