Watch sharpshooter insects launch urine droplets from anal catapult

Tiny sharpshooter insects produce so much urine that they catapult it out of their bodies in energy-efficient, high-speed droplets instead of a stream. What’s more, their anal stylus catapults the droplet away faster than this appendage moves.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta used biophysical experiments and computer modelling to understand how this process happens. They discovered that the stylus squeezes the droplet, storing energy in the form of surface tension, which was released at the point of departure.