While this image might evoke thoughts of freshly washed laundry or folded sheets, it depicts two incredible features that many insects possess. The first is their ability to fold or unfold their wings from incredibly compact configurations. The second is the presence of nanoscale texturing that creates superhydrophobic and self-cleaning surfaces, a focal point of the Alleyne Bioinspiration Col-LAB-orative (ABC Lab). This image, captured through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), reveals what the wing membrane of a cicada (Neotibicen pruinosus) looks like prior to having fully functioning adult wings. Cicadas are hemimetabolous, meaning they have no pupal stage and will go through several “upsizing” nymphal transitions before becoming an adult. Their immature life stages take place underground and consequently, we know very little of their subterranean lifestyle. Although they have no use for flight underground, their wings will begin to develop inside tiny little buds, almost like envelopes, along the lateral sides of their body. The wings of cicadas are covered with nanopillars, barely visible in this image, that help them to maintain dry and clean wings. This image was captured during an exploratory SEM session to determine if the nanopillars are present on the wing during development.
