Leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and froghoppers are all insects in the order Hemiptera that are some of the fastest jumping animals on earth! They are also supercommon, so I collected a bunch and filmed their jumps in slowmotion!
References (Prof. Malcolm Burrows papers):
Froghopper jumps Burrows M (2006), “Jumping performance of froghopper insects.” J Exp Biol 209:460721 https://jeb.biologists.org/content/20...
Froghopper gears Burrows M, Sutton G (2013), “Interacting gears synchronize propulsive leg movements in a jumping insect.” Science 341(6151):12546 https://science.sciencemag.org/conten...
Treehopper jumps Burrows M (2013), “Jumping mechanisms of treehopper insects (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Membracidae).” J Exp Biol 216:78899 https://jeb.biologists.org/content/21...
Planthopper jumps Burrows M (2009), “Jumping performance of planthoppers (Hemiptera, Issidae).” J Exp Biol 212(17):284455 https://jeb.biologists.org/content/21...
Leafhopper jumps Burrows M (2007), “Kinematics of jumping in leafhopper insects (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Cicadellidae).” J Exp Biol 210:357989 https://jeb.biologists.org/content/21...
For more general biology of hemipteran hoppers:
Hoppers of North Carolina: http://dpr.ncparks.gov/bugs/index.php
Dr. Z.P. Metcalf database: https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcolle...
Treehoppers: http://treehoppers.insectmuseum.org/p...
Image credits:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/1309715...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/treegro...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yogendr...
Music:
https://www.soundofpicture.com/
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