Publications
2026
- Andrew CNS, Bu JY, Kelly NS, Johnson S, Metali F, Grafe TU, Bauer U & Federle W. An insect trap adjusting to weather conditions: Nepenthes rafflesiana plants control the fluid level in their pitchers to maximise prey capture. Annals of Botany. 137 (3): 833-846. doi:10.1093/aob/mcaf294
- Andrew C, Bu JY, Howell IJ & Federle W. Regulation of pitcher fluid volume and properties in six ecologically distinct Bornean Nepenthes species. Preprint.
- Greenway G, Woodman T, Emberts Z, Miller CW & Federle W. Adult nutrition strongly affects insect cuticle thickness and injury resistance. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. doi:10.1098/rsif.2025.0089
2025
- Chowdhury R, Grafe U, Metali F & Federle W. Arms race of physical defences: hooked trichomes of Macaranga ant-plants kill lycaenid caterpillars, but one specialist has a counter-defence. Biology Letters. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2025.0089
- Chowdhury R, de Castro EC, Julian G & Federle W. Caterpillar counter-adaptations to hooked trichomes: does the coevolutionary arms race continue? Preprint. ResearchGate
- Goetzke HH, Burrows M & Federle W. Mantises jump from smooth surfaces by pushing with “heel” pads of their hind legs. Biomimetics. doi:10.3390/biomimetics10010031
- Andrew C, Bu JY, Kelly N & Federle W. An insect trap adjusting to weather conditions: Nepenthes rafflesiana plants control the fluid level in their pitchers to maximise prey capture. Annals of Botany. doi:10.1093/aob/mcae193
2024
- Sun SJ, Chen S, Federle W & Kilner RM. Biomechanical adaptations enable phoretic mite species to occupy distinct spatial niches on host burying beetles. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi:10.1098/rspb.2024.0230
2023
- Pattrick JG, Symington HA, Federle W & Glover BJ. Bumblebees negotiate a trade-off between nectar quality and floral biomechanics. iScience. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.108121
2021
- Kang V, White RT, Chen S & Federle W. Extreme suction attachment performance from specialised insects living in mountain streams (Diptera: Blephariceridae). eLife. doi:10.7554/eLife.63250
- Kang V, Isermann H, Sharma S & Federle W. How a sticky fluid facilitates prey retention in a carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes rafflesiana). Acta Biomaterialia. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2021.03.069
- Woodman TE, Chen S, Emberts Z, Miller CW & Federle W. Developmental nutrition affects the structural integrity of a sexually selected weapon. Integrative and Comparative Biology. doi:10.1093/icb/icab092
2019
- Kang V, Johnston R, van de Kamp T, Faragó T & Federle W. Morphology of powerful suction organs from blepharicerid larvae living in raging torrents. BMC Zoology. doi:10.1186/s40850-019-0048-4
2017
- Clemente CJ, Goetzke H, Bullock JMR, Sutton GP, Burrows M & Federle W. Jumping without slipping: leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) possess special tarsal structures for jumping from smooth surfaces. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. doi:10.1098/rsif.2017.0022
2016
- Labonte D, Clemente CJ, Dittrich A, Kuo CY, Crosby AJ, Irschick DJ & Federle W. Extreme positive allometry of animal adhesive pads and the size limits of adhesion-based climbing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. doi:10.1073/pnas.1519459113
- Labonte D & Federle W. Biomechanics of shear-sensitive adhesion in climbing animals: peeling, pre-tension and sliding-induced changes in interface strength. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. doi:10.1098/rsif.2016.0373
- Hackmann A, Delacave H, Robinson A, Labonte D & Federle W. Functional morphology and efficiency of the antenna cleaner in Camponotus rufifemur ants. Royal Society Open Science. doi:10.1098/rsos.150129
2015
- Labonte D & Federle W. Scaling and biomechanics of surface attachment in climbing animals. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. doi:10.1098/rstb.2014.0027
2014
- Zhou Y, Robinson A, Steiner U & Federle W. Insect adhesion on rough surfaces: analysis of adhesive contact of smooth and hairy pads on transparent microstructured substrates. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. doi:10.1098/rsif.2014.0499
2013
- Endlein T & Federle W. Rapid preflexes in smooth adhesive pads of insects prevent sudden detachment. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.2868
- Moll K, Roces F & Federle W. How load-carrying ants avoid falling over: mechanical stability during foraging in Atta vollenweideri grass-cutting ants. PLoS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052816
- Scharmann M, Thornham DG, Grafe TU & Federle W. A novel type of nutritional ant-plant interaction: ant partners of carnivorous pitcher plants prevent nutrient export by dipteran pitcher infauna. PLoS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063556
2012
- Bauer U, Clemente CJ, Renner T & Federle W. Form follows function: morphological diversification and alternative trapping strategies in carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02406.x
2011
2010
- Clemente CJ, Bullock JMR, Beale A & Federle W. Evidence for self-cleaning in fluid-based smooth and hairy adhesive systems of insects. Journal of Experimental Biology. doi:10.1242/jeb.038232
- Dirks JH, Clemente CJ & Federle W. Insect tricks: two-phasic foot pad secretion prevents slipping. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. doi:10.1098/rsif.2009.0246
2008
- Bauer U, Bohn HF & Federle W. Harmless nectar source or deadly trap: Nepenthes pitchers are activated by rain, condensation and nectar. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1402
- Clemente CJ & Federle W. Pushing versus pulling: division of labour between tarsal attachment pads in cockroaches. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1660
2006
2002
- Federle W, Riehle M, Curtis ASG & Full RJ. An integrative study of insect adhesion: mechanics and wet adhesion of pretarsal pads in ants. Integrative and Comparative Biology. doi:10.1093/icb/42.6.1100
2001
- Federle W, Brainerd EL, McMahon TA & Hölldobler B. Biomechanics of the movable pretarsus in ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.
Posters
