Both stiff and compliant: morphological and biomechanical adaptations of stick insect antennae for tactile exploration

Abstract

Active tactile exploration behaviour is constrained to a large extent by the morphological and biomechanical properties of the animal's somatosensory system. In the model organism Carausius morosus , the main tactile sensory organs are long, thin, seemingly delicate, but very robust antennae. Previous studies have shown that these antennae are compliant under contact, yet stiff enough to maintain a straight shape during active exploration. Overcritical damping of the flagellum, on the other hand, allows for a rapid return to the straight shape after release of contact. Which roles do the morphological and biomechanical adaptations of the flagellum play in determining these special mechanical properties? To investigate this question, we used a combination of biomechanical experiments and numerical modelling. A set of four finite-element (FE) model variants was derived to investigate the effect of the distinct geometrical and material properties of the flagellum on its static (bending) and dynamic (damping) characteristics. The results of our numerical simulations show that the tapered shape of the flagellum had the strongest influence on its static biomechanical behaviour. The annulated structure and thickness gradient affected the deformability of the flagellum to a lesser degree. The inner endocuticle layer of the flagellum was confirmed to be essential for explaining the strongly damped return behaviour of the antenna. By highlighting the significance of two out of the four main structural features of the insect flagellum, our study provides a basis for mechanical design of biomimetic touch sensors tuned to become maximally flexible while quickly resuming a straight shape after contact.