How to improve soil anti-adhesion by studying the micro relief of the cuticle surface of digging beetles: exploring the Gromphas lacordairii (Oken, 1834) pronotum

SETTEN, L. M.; GÓMEZ, L. S. ; SÁNCHEZ, M. V.; GUILLÉN, N. B.; FAVRET, E. A.

Congreso; Microscopy and Microanalysis; 2024

As part of the investigation to find the patternresponsible for decreasing the adherence of soil particles to agriculturalmachinery components, we have been studying the microtopography of differentsoil-digging beetles [1, 2, 3].In the present work, we explored the microrelief of the pronotum cuticlesurface of a paracoprid dung beetle species inhabiting Argentina, Gromphas lacordairii (Oken, 1834) (Coleoptera,Scarabaeidae). This species has two characteristics whichdistinguish it from other previously studied species. First, G. lacordairii is found in humid areas, especially wetlands, including floodplains,river sandbanks, grasslands, forest edges and gallery forests [4, 5]. Second, the cuticle of the pronotum presents granules instead ofdimples.