Thinner than a human hair, dragonfly wings are highly durable, with antimicrobial, water-resistant, and anti-reflective properties and more. In a new study, a group of researchers examine a variety of chemical and structural qualities of dragonfly wings (of the species Aethriamanta rezia, shown here) to seek inspiration for human technical innovation. (Photo by mmatthiessen via iNaturalist, CC BY-NC 4.0)

By Paige Embry

Paige Embry

Dragonflies are master predators, catching up to 95% of the prey they go after.⁠ For comparison, birds of prey only capture around 25%.⁠ Part of dragonflies’ predatorial prowess comes from the aerial acrobatics allowed by having four wings that can work separately, in pairs, or together. Dragonflies can even fly backwards⁠. Each wing is a gossamer extension of the exoskeleton, only about 3 micrometers⁠ thick—a little over 1/10,000th of an inch—yet it can hold up through the weeks to months of a dragonfly’s adult life.

What makes these insubstantial-looking appendages so durable? A group of scientists sought answers by looking at an array of characteristics from the wings of the African dragonfly Aethriamanta rezia, sometimes known as the pygmy basker. Their reported the results of their research in September in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America.

Kofi Adu, Ph.D.

One of the paper’s co-authors, Kofi Adu, Ph.D., is a physics professor at Pennsylvania State University-Altoona College. “Most of the time, my work is related to nanomaterials—that is, materials that are 100 nanometer or less—and their applications,” he says. Dragonflies came to his attention through colleagues. He was intrigued when he saw that dragonflies were able to just shake water off their wings and fly away. “There are so many properties that are being exhibited about the surface that need to be studied,” he says.

Adu and colleagues at Penn State-Altoona, the University of Cape Coast (Ghana), the University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom), and the American Museum of Natural History looked at all aspects of the dragonfly wing, from its physical structure to the chemical compounds on the surface to light transmission through the wing to better understand its durability. How do the wings shed water rather than crumpling like wet tissues? And what else can they do?

Thinner than a human hair, dragonfly wings are highly durable, with antimicrobial, water-resistant, and anti-reflective properties and more. In a new study, a group of researchers examine a variety of chemical and structural qualities of dragonfly wings to seek inspiration for human technical innovation. (Image courtesy of Kofi Adu, Ph.D.)

The dragonflies examined in the study were collected in Ghana, part of an effort to map out the dragonfly diversity in the country. Using a scanning electron microscope, the researchers found that the wing’s surface was highly irregular. The pterostigma (the dark spot on the edge of the wing) was rough; the interveinal cells were made of ultrafine mesh-like pillars, and the wing was riddled with spines and sensilla. The scientists also looked at the cuticular hydrocarbons—waxy lipids that coat an insect’s cuticle⁠—and found, surprisingly, 45 different compounds. The uneven topography can enhance what some of the chemicals do. “The nano structures,” says Adu, “can serve as a scaffold. … You increase the surface area of coverage.”

In a new study, a group of researchers examine a variety of chemical and structural qualities of dragonfly wings to seek inspiration for human technical innovation. Using a scanning electron microscope, the researchers found that the wing’s surface was riddled with spines and sensilla, shown here. (Image originally published in Combey et al 2025, Annals of the Entomological Society of America)

To assess the hydrophobicity of A. rezia wings, the scientists placed water of a specific density on wings and measured the angle where the drop met the wing—a steeper angle means the surface is more hydrophobic than a shallow one. Think a ball of water perched on the wing that will easily roll off, versus water that spreads out. The water contact angle on A. rezia wings ranged from 100.7 degrees to 181 degrees, hitting the superhydrophobic range (a contact angle greater than 145 degrees). Three of the top 18 compounds found qualified as “superhydrophobic.” Also, the hydrophobicity persists. The scientists have re-tested the wings and three years after the initial work, they still shed water. Adu says, “If you ask me, what is the shelf life? I don’t know.” From a useful-to-industry perspective, longevity of a substance matters.

In a new study, a group of researchers examine a variety of chemical and structural qualities of dragonfly wings to seek inspiration for human technical innovation. To assess wings’ water resistance, or hydrophobicity, the scientists placed water of a specific density on wings and measured the angle where the drop met the wing—a steeper angle means the surface is more hydrophobic than a shallow one. The water contact angle on the wings ranged from 100.7 degrees to 181 degrees, hitting the “superhydrophobic range” of a contact angle greater than 145 degrees. (Image originally published in Combey et al 2025, Annals of the Entomological Society of America)

As with making the wing hydrophobic, the underlayment and the compounds work together to impede bacterial growth. Adu notes that a smooth surface aids bacterial adhesion, a bumpy one inhibits it. Added to the inhospitable terrain are compounds that work against bacterial colonization: Some are biocidal and some provide a chemically inert barrier that hinders adhesion.

The paper is filled with information, ranging from how the wings’ ability to absorb UV light may play a role in camouflage to the presence of interesting chemicals, like anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant squalene, to the nature and potentially expansive role of the pterostigma. What might someone interested in nanomaterials and useful chemicals do with all the information? Adu says there are so many applications—anti-inflammatory compounds, for example, may be particularly beneficial. He notes that some of the hydrocarbons promote self-cleaning, for which there are many uses, including one that Adu came up with that made a friend laugh: a condiment packet made from the right material and a food-safe coating so “as soon as you squeeze it, everything comes out, nothing would stick to the walls.”

In a new study, a group of researchers examine a variety of chemical and structural qualities of dragonfly wings to seek inspiration for human technical innovation. The dragonflies examined in the study were collected in Ghana, part of an effort to map out the dragonfly diversity in the country. Here, a cohort of participants in a 2024 National Science Foundation International Research Experiences for Students project and their Ghanaian counterparts collecting and cataloging dragonflies in the field near Mole National Park in the Northen Region of Ghana. (Photo courtesy of Kofi Adu, Ph.D.)

In a new study, a group of researchers examine a variety of chemical and structural qualities of dragonfly wings to seek inspiration for human technical innovation. Pictured here are co-authors of the study Jessica Ware, Ph.D., of the American Museum of Natural History, Kofi Adu, Ph.D. and Lara LaDage, Ph.D., of Pennsylvania State University-Altoona College, and Rofela Combey, Ph.D., of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Not pictured is co-author Isaac Badu of the University of Edinburgh. (Photo courtesy of Kofi Adu, Ph.D.)

Kofi Adu, Ph.D., catches dragonflies at a creek in Kintampo in the Bono East Region of Ghana. (Photo courtesy of Kofi Adu, Ph.D.)

Adu marvels at what we can glean from a tiny insect wing. “We know a lot—but there is so much we don’t know. Look at the insect wing. It is a small part of the insect; however, the properties are enormous,” he says. “No matter how small, how minute a thing may be, it might be the key in addressing some of the challenges that we face.”

Paige Embry is a freelance science writer based in Seattle and author of Our Native Bees: North America’s Endangered Pollinators and the Fight to Save Them. Website: www.paigeembry.com.