Figure 6. Diagram of the traction force measurements of beetles walking in a narrowed space between two plates (A) and on cylindrical rods (B).
(A). A tethered beetle attached to a force sensor (fs) through a nylon thread (nt) was put onto the rough (Ra = 21.03 μm) lower platform (lp). The upper platform (up) was then lowered until the beetle was clamped between lower and upper platform with a force of 1 N. (B). A beetle was put on a cylindrical rod. The beetles pulled horizontally on the sensor (fs). The data acquisition system (as) connected to the PC continuously recorded the traction force generated by the beetle.