{"paper":{"title":"A developmental switch from capillary rectification to elastic catapult enables honeydew ejection in the spotted lanternfly","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/","headline":"Spotted lanternfly nymphs eject honeydew using a capillary rectifier while adults use an elastic catapult.","cross_cats":["physics.flu-dyn"],"primary_cat":"physics.bio-ph","authors_text":"Elio J. Challita, Elizabeth G. Clark, Jacob S. Harrison, Kendall E. Larson, Miriam F. Cooperband, Nami Ha, Saad Bhamla","submitted_at":"2026-05-14T15:26:10Z","abstract_excerpt":"Plant sap-feeding insects must dispose of excess fluid, yet at millimeter scales droplet release is constrained by capillary adhesion and contact-line pinning. How phloem-feeding insects solve this puzzle, particularly as the excretory apparatus changes in size and form from nymph to adult, has remained unclear. Combining micro-CT, high-speed imaging, measurements of honeydew properties, and reduced-order modeling, we show that the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) uses distinct release mechanics across ontogeny. Nymphs release honeydew with an anal stylus that acts as a capillary rectif"},"claims":{"count":4,"items":[{"kind":"strongest_claim","text":"we show that the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) uses distinct release mechanics across ontogeny. Nymphs release honeydew with an anal stylus that acts as a capillary rectifier... Adults use a longer stylus associated with an elastic basal region... Development therefore maintains waste clearance across ontogeny under the same outlet-scale capillary constraint by changing how stylus motion is coupled to the droplet at release.","source":"verdict.strongest_claim","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C1","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"weakest_assumption","text":"The reduced-order modeling and Weber-Bond scaling based on measured honeydew properties correctly capture the dominant forces and post-release regimes without significant contributions from unmodeled effects such as viscoelasticity or three-dimensional flow at the contact line.","source":"verdict.weakest_assumption","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C2","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"one_line_summary","text":"Spotted lanternfly nymphs eject honeydew via capillary rectification while adults use elastic compression and catapult release, switching mechanics across development to clear fluid under identical outlet capillary constraints.","source":"verdict.one_line_summary","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C3","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"headline","text":"Spotted lanternfly nymphs eject honeydew using a capillary rectifier while adults use an elastic catapult.","source":"verdict.pith_extraction.headline","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C4","attestation":"unclaimed"}],"snapshot_sha256":"6b1409688e64daf5fcedf068985dc5071160916cda692c760ad897df4d386bad"},"source":{"id":"2605.14957","kind":"arxiv","version":1},"verdict":{"id":"8d4998be-8e7c-4da8-ba84-2b126435ab4c","model_set":{"reader":"grok-4.3"},"created_at":"2026-05-15T02:48:19.545866Z","strongest_claim":"we show that the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) uses distinct release mechanics across ontogeny. Nymphs release honeydew with an anal stylus that acts as a capillary rectifier... Adults use a longer stylus associated with an elastic basal region... Development therefore maintains waste clearance across ontogeny under the same outlet-scale capillary constraint by changing how stylus motion is coupled to the droplet at release.","one_line_summary":"Spotted lanternfly nymphs eject honeydew via capillary rectification while adults use elastic compression and catapult release, switching mechanics across development to clear fluid under identical outlet capillary constraints.","pipeline_version":"pith-pipeline@v0.9.0","weakest_assumption":"The reduced-order modeling and Weber-Bond scaling based on measured honeydew properties correctly capture the dominant forces and post-release regimes without significant contributions from unmodeled effects such as viscoelasticity or three-dimensional flow at the contact line.","pith_extraction_headline":"Spotted lanternfly nymphs eject honeydew using a capillary rectifier while adults use an elastic catapult."},"references":{"count":66,"sample":[{"doi":"","year":2006,"title":"Phloem-sap feeding by animals: prob- lems and solutions","work_id":"f6567453-4550-4268-a81c-dec9859ecf44","ref_index":1,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2011,"title":"A phloem-sap feeder mixes phloem and xylem sap to regulate osmotic potential","work_id":"8a2c9aeb-b1ba-48dd-9db4-ce692f0ac87b","ref_index":2,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2023,"title":"Droplet superpropulsion in an ener- getically constrained insect","work_id":"b8fd7a8e-a046-43ea-97df-115002a82d74","ref_index":3,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2024,"title":"Unifying fluidic excretion across life from cicadas to elephants","work_id":"abd6b2a0-7f5f-481d-be6c-f6e5c4d049ca","ref_index":5,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"","year":2024,"title":"Adhesive properties of Aphrophoridae spittlebug foam","work_id":"e48501da-1663-4be9-92bd-e7d3be09ef79","ref_index":6,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false}],"resolved_work":66,"snapshot_sha256":"a115ced6865bc4cbcd9ccc538bf712a717eff94f0eddc6fb4942bfce68134b16","internal_anchors":0},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":2,"snapshot_sha256":"eabe279400eccd8618dcd418c4b3361c3a5e1c5e15d5675f53169f504eb62a6f"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}