In this study, the bactericidal properties of the wing surface of two different Psalmocharias cicada species, Psalmocharias querula (PQ) and Psalmocharias akesensis (PA), are examined based on the organization and nano-topographical characteristics of the wing nanostructure. The bacterial killing capacity of the wings was assessed by counting the colony-forming units (CFU). Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and contact angle measurements were utilized to reveal wing nano-topographical structures and their impact on bacterial contact-killing efficiency. The role of surface roughness parameters on bacterial cell attachments and bactericidal properties of the wings was evaluated by analysis of topography results using histogram height distribution and power spectral density (PSD) methods. It was found that the skewness and kurtosis values of the cicada wing nanopillars significantly correlate with their shear-inducing capacity, confirming the higher bactericidal activity for PQ wing surface compared to PA wing surface.

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