Anti-adhesive effects of plant wax coverage on insect attachment

Abstract

The long period of reciprocal antagonistic coevolution between some insect and plant species has led to the development of plant surface attributes that reduce insect attachment. These features serve as a defence against herbivores, sap-sucking insects and nectar robbers, contribute to a temporary capture of insect pollinators, and prevent the escape of insects from traps of carnivorous plants. This review summarises the literature on attachment-mediated insect-plant interactions. A short introduction to attachment systems of insects is presented and the effect of three-dimensional epicuticular waxes on insect attachment is illustrated by many examples. Special attention is given to the mechanisms of the anti-attachment properties of plant wax structures (the roughness hypothesis, the contamination hypothesis, the fluid-adsorption hypothesis, and the wax-dissolving hypothesis) and their ecological implications.

Keywords: Adhesive pad; epicuticular wax; mechanism; reduction; three-dimensional coverage; wax crystals.