Cacti spines, snake fangs, snail love darts – oh my! How function drives the evolution of nature’s puncture tools

By Philip Anderson, Associate Professor of Biology and Biomechanics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Most people probably aren’t thinking about the complexity of nature when they get stung by a bee or prick their thumb on a rose. They are probably just thinking, “Ouch, that hurts!”

Even at this level of interaction, however, it is obvious not all things in nature that poke you are created equal. The rose prickle may draw blood, while the bee sting can leave an itchy rash.

The act of puncture – stabbing something with a sharp tool – is incredibly widespread in the natural world. Examples of puncture tools…

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