Catapulting mechanism of honeydew droplet ejection in spotted lanternflies

Determine the catapulting mechanism by which spotted lanternflies expel honeydew droplets, specifying the physical process that produces the droplet launch from the insect and the components involved in generating the necessary deformation and release.

Background

Phloem-feeding insects excrete sugar-rich honeydew and employ diverse strategies to manage and eject these fluids; for example, gall aphids coat droplets to form liquid marbles that roll away, and free-living aphids kick fluids to prevent fouling and predation.

While xylem-feeding sharpshooters are known to catapult droplets using a superpropulsion mechanism tuned to droplet resonance, the mechanism that enables spotted lanternflies to eject honeydew droplets remains unspecified in this review, highlighting a clear gap in understanding of their excretion dynamics.

References

Spotted lanternflies, another phloem-feeding insect species , expel fluidic honeydew droplets using a currently-unknown catapulting mechanism.

— Fluid ejections in nature  (2403.02359 - Challita et al., 2024) in Section: Regimes of Newtonian Fluidic Ejections; Subsection: Surface Tension Regime ($Bo<1$, $We<1$); Subsubsection: Excretion in Sap-Feeding Insects: Kicking, Catapulting, Pinching, and Waxing