Biomechanics of aerial righting in wingless nymphal stick insects

Zeng, Yu; Kenrick, Lam; Chen, Yue-Xiang; Gong, Mengsha; Xu, Zhong; Dudley, Robert

doi:10.1098/rsfs.2016.0075

Cited by 38 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…This behaviour, which may serve as a defence reaction, is also likely to be valid for the wingless species C. morosus. Immediately after falling from a height, the stick insects are able to reorientate and stabilize their body during the plunge (Zeng et al, 2017), and land on their tarsi (M.S., T.H.B., S.N.G. and H.R., unpublished observation).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does a slender tibia resist buckling? The effect of material, structural and geometric characteristics on the buckling behaviour of the hindleg tibia in the postembryonic development of the stick insectCarausius morosus

Schmitt

Büscher

Gorb

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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During the lifespan of the stick insect , their long and narrow tibiae experience substantial compressive loads. The mechanical load on the tibiae increases as the weight of the insect rises. The increase in body weight is accompanied by a notable increase in the insect's body size and, accordingly, by an increase in the length of the tibiae. Both of these changes can raise the risk of buckling of the tibiae. In this study, we tracked changes in the material and geometric properties of the hindleg tibia of during growth. The results show that although buckling (either by Euler buckling or local buckling) is the dominant failure mode under compression, the tibia is very capable of maintaining its buckling resistance in each postembryonic developmental stage. This is essentially the result of a compromise between the increasing slenderness of the tibia and its increasing material stiffness. The use of an optimal radius to thickness ratio, a soft resilin-dominated core, and chitin fibres oriented in both longitudinal and circumferential directions are presumably additional strategies preventing buckling of the tibia. This study, providing the first quantitative data on changes in the biomechanical properties of cuticle during the entire life of an insect, is expected to shed more light on the structure-property-function relationship in this complex biological composite.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does a slender tibia resist buckling? The effect of material, structural and geometric characteristics on the buckling behaviour of the hindleg tibia in the postembryonic development of the stick insectCarausius morosus

Schmitt

Büscher

Gorb

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…It should be noted that several insects are capable of aerial righting in mid-air, e.g. wingless pea aphids 27 and wingless stick insect nymphs 28 . However, the time scale of the reported behaviours is significantly longer than that of the jumps reported herein and hence it is probable that aerial righting does not contribute significantly in the present case.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy and time optimal trajectories in exploratory jumps of the spider Phidippus regius

Nabawy

Sivalingam

Garwood

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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Jumping spiders are proficient jumpers that use jumps in a variety of behavioural contexts. We use high speed, high resolution video to measure the kinematics of a single regal jumping spider for a total of 15 different tasks based on a horizontal gap of 2–5 body lengths and vertical gap of +/−2 body lengths. For short range jumps, we show that low angled trajectories are used that minimise flight time. For longer jumps, take-off angles are steeper and closer to the optimum for minimum energy cost of transport. Comparison of jump performance against other arthropods shows that Phidippus regius is firmly in the group of animals that use dynamic muscle contraction for actuation as opposed to a stored energy catapult system. We find that the jump power requirements can be met from the estimated mass of leg muscle; hydraulic augmentation may be present but appears not to be energetically essential.

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“…For example, ants (Yanoviak, Munk and Dudley, 2011), spiders (Yanoviak, Munk and Dudley, 2015) and stick insect instars (Zeng et al, 2017) have been shown to use coordinated motions of their legs and appendages during falling to initiate, reorient and stabilize their body orientation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Many ways to stick the landing: novel righting strategies allow spotted lanternfly nymphs to land on diverse substrates

Kane

Bien

Contreras-Orendain

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Many small animals use aerial righting to mitigate the risks associated with falling, such as predation, starvation, and desiccation. Spotted lanternflies (Lycorma delicatula) (SLFs) are invasive insect pests that often fall from host plants in response to predators or abiotic factors (e.g., wind). We used high-speed video to study whether immature SLFs (nymphs) impact surfaces, and subsequently land upright, more often than expected by chance, and, if so, whether they do so via active or passive mechanisms. SLF nymphs were found to adopt a stereotypical falling posture proposed to promote passive righting, and similar to those assumed by falling insects, spiders, geckos, frogs and skydivers. Live SLF nymphs landed upright in more trials when releasing voluntarily (100%) or when dropped from tweezers (56%) than did dead specimens (33-35%), with differences being highly statistically significant, even when the dead specimens were posed in the falling posture. These results support a role for active aerial righting. The fraction landing upright also did not depend significantly either on orientation during release or at first impact. We found that significantly more live SLFs reoriented to upright after impacting in a non-upright orientation via bouncing in combination with adhering to the substrate with one or more feet. Videos of nymphs landing on leaves confirmed that these insects can use similar tactics to land upright on host plants. These findings indicate the important role post-impact righting plays in determining final orientation, and highlight the importance of studies that include ecologically-relevant substrates and naturalistic conditions.

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Biomechanics of aerial righting in wingless nymphal stick insects

Cited by 38 publications

References 37 publications

How does a slender tibia resist buckling? The effect of material, structural and geometric characteristics on the buckling behaviour of the hindleg tibia in the postembryonic development of the stick insectCarausius morosus

How does a slender tibia resist buckling? The effect of material, structural and geometric characteristics on the buckling behaviour of the hindleg tibia in the postembryonic development of the stick insectCarausius morosus

Energy and time optimal trajectories in exploratory jumps of the spider Phidippus regius

Many ways to stick the landing: novel righting strategies allow spotted lanternfly nymphs to land on diverse substrates

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