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First published online August 31, 2007
Journal of Experimental Biology 210, 3311-3318 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
doi: 10.1242/jeb.007914

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Jumping behaviour in a Gondwanan relict insect (Hemiptera: Coleorrhyncha: Peloridiidae)

Malcolm Burrows^1,*, Viktor Hartung² and Hannelore Hoch²

¹ Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
² Museum für Naturkunde, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany

View larger version (100K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 1. (A) The phylogenetic relationships of the Coleorrhyncha (based on Bourgoin and Cambell, 2002), showing some of the modern Hemipteran families. The Peloridiidae represent the only modern family of Coleorrhyncha. (B) Photograph (by J. Deckert) of a male of Hackeriella veitchi, viewed dorsally, on its host plant.

View larger version (116K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Images of a jump from left to right with the long axis of the body parallel to the camera, captured at 2000 images s–1. Selected images at the times indicated are arranged vertically in two columns. The first movement of a hind leg occurred 1.5 ms (frame –1.5) before take-off (0 ms) and can be seen as a downwards and backwards movement of the femur (white arrow). The two hind tarsi were positioned separately beneath the body. At take-off they moved closer together and then once clear of the ground, the tibiae of the two hind legs crossed beneath the body.

View larger version (18K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Leg and body movements during the jump shown in Fig. 2. (A) The position of the head, the femoro-tibial (FT) joint of the right hind leg, and the tarsi of the three right legs (see cartoon inset in B) are plotted against time. The first movement of a hind leg occurred 1.5 ms before take-off (left arrow and yellow bar) and caused the tarsi of the front and middle legs to lose contact with the ground. Take-off at time 0 ms is indicated by the right arrow and the right, vertical yellow bar. (B) Sequential movements of the six points on the body during a jump. The black arrowheads and the linking black lines show the position of these six points at take-off (0 ms). The corresponding positions of these points at different times during the jump can be read point by point from these positions at take-off, with each point representing the distance moved in 0.5 ms.

View larger version (27K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 4. Trajectory of a jump. The position of the left and right eyes (see cartoon inset) in the vertical plane are plotted against time. Selected frames to show the orientation of the body are shown at the times indicated. Once airborne the body spins about the longitudinal axis of the body with each rotation lasting about 4 ms, as indicated by the periodic convergence of the two sets of points at these intervals. Images were captured at 2000 s–1.

View larger version (127K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 5. Asynchrony in the movements of the two hind legs leads to a rotation of the body at take-off. The right hind leg (black arrow) was first depressed at frame –2.0 ms so that its tarsus was placed fully on the ground. The tarsus of the left hind leg is off the ground. The effect was to rotate the body so that the left side moved closer to the ground. At –1.0 ms the left hind leg was depressed (white arrow) so that its tarsus now contacted the ground. The contribution of this leg now rotated the body in the opposite direction and this rotation dominated at take-off and when airborne.

View larger version (150K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 6. Falling movement caused by a rapid movement of one hind leg. In the first frame (–7.0 ms) the right hind leg (white arrow) was off the ground and the left hind leg was on the ground. A rapid depression of the right hind leg, without a movement by the left hind leg, pushed its tarsus to the ground (–6.0 ms). The applied force progressively tilted the body so that the left side moved downwards and the insect fell from the platform.

View larger version (105K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 7. Scanning electron microscope images of the legs. (A) All three pairs of legs have proximal segments of similar shape but different orientations. One stylet has come out of the sheathing rostrum. The diagram at the left shows the thoraco-coxal and coxo-trochanteral angles of the legs. (B) Ventral view of the coxo-trochanteral joint. A hair plate is present on the anterior edge of the coxa and on the lateral edge of the ventral horn of the trochanter but there is no protrusion from the lateral coxa. (C) Dorsal view of the proximal joints of the right hind leg to show the microtrichia on the medial surface of the coxa, the fusion of the trochanter with the femur and the absence of a protrusion on the dorsal, proximal femur. (D) The tarsus and distal tibia to show the ventral, semi-circular ring of tibial spines at the tibio-tarsal joint.