Page 46 - World of Animals - Issue #30

Leaping legends

Hooded grasshopper
HOODED
GRASSHOPPER
Teratodes monticollis
Class Insecta Bodies that look like leaves
These highly striking grasshoppers
bear a close resemblance to leaves,
camouflaging themselves against trees
Territory India, Sri Lanka
Diet Leaves as they feed. Their distinctive shape is
Lifespan Unknown formed by the pronotum – the plate-like
Adult weight Unknown structure that covers the thorax – acting
Conservation status
as a sizeable hood over the insect’s body.
These green grasshoppers are native
NOT EVALUATED to India and Sri Lanka, where they are
generally regarded as pests.

What’s a
pronotum for?
The pronotum is a
saddle-shaped, hard
shield, which protects the
middle thoracic segment and
part of the abdomen of a
grasshopper. Many insects
have pronotums but they are
particularly prominent on
grasshoppers.

The world’s highest jumpers
Grasshoppers are able to jump 20 times their own body length but how does that compare to other animal athletes?

140x 120x 50x

ITS OWN ITS OWN ITS OWN
HEIGHT HEIGHT LENGTH

Froghopper Flea Tree frog
140 times its own height 120 times its own height 50 times its own length
According to University of Cambridge research, As well as leaping high into the air, fleas can Just before they leap, tree frogs shorten their
froghoppers have bow-like structures between jump long distances – some 200 times their leg muscles for around 100 milliseconds, which
their hind legs and wings, which can be flexed own body length. Scientists at the University of stretches their tendons and builds up a store
to release energy. This, in turn, powers a jump. Cambridge found fleas transmit force from a of energy in them. When the frog leaps from
This action catapults the froghopper forward spring in the thorax through leg segments that the ground, the tendons recoil like springs –
with a force that is more than 400 times greater exert pressure on the toe. When pushing off propelling it into the air with a much greater
than gravity. with their feet, energy is released. force than if it used muscle strength alone.

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