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. 2020 May 8;10:7785. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-64563-7

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© The Author(s) 2020

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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Specialized body hair of Halobates germanus. Scanning electron micrographs of H. germanus. (A,B,G–H) Dorsal and ventral mesothorax showing densely packed layer of tiny and fine hairs (microtrichia), interspaced with longer setae (macrotrichia). (H), Distinct mushroom shapes of microtrichia with broad heads that render robust wetting-resistance. Together, these hairs create an architecture that imparts multilevel protection from wetting and drowning of the insect. (C) Pre-tarsal claws on front leg (or ungues) used for grooming. (D–F,I–L) Middle and hind legs with an array of setae oriented at a 40° angle; hair densities vary on each segment of the leg. (J) Setae with longitudinal nanoscale grooves which enhance water repellency and facilitate the entrapment of air upon accidental submersion. (I) Ventral surface of legs that are in contact with seawater with hairs that are slightly curved at their tips, forming a continuous pane parallel to the water surface and providing greater stability. (F,K) Sensory trichobothria on legs.