Jumping and take-off in a winged scorpion fly (Mecoptera, Panorpa communis)

Abstract

High-speed videos were used to analyse whether and how adults of a winged species of scorpion fly (Mecoptera, Panorpa communis) jump and determine whether they use the same mechanism as that of the only other mecopteran known to jump, the wingless snow flea, Boreus hyemalis. Adult females are longer and heavier than males and have longer legs, but of the same relative proportions. The middle legs are 20% longer and the hind legs 60% longer than the front legs. A jump starts with the middle and hind legs in variable positions, but together, by depressing their coxo-trochanteral and extending their femoro-tibial joints, they accelerate the body in 16-19 ms to mean take-off velocities of 0.7-0.8 m s −1 ; performances in males and females were not significantly different. Depression of the wings accompanies these leg movements, but clipping them does not affect jump performance.Smooth transition to flapping flight occurs once airborne with little loss of energy to body rotation. Ninety percent of the jumps analysed occurred without an observable stimulus; the remaining 10% were in response to a mechanical touch. The performance of these jumps was not significantly different. In its fastest jumps, a scorpion fly experiences an acceleration of 10 g, expends 23 µJ of energy and requires a power output less than 250 W kg −1 of muscle that can be met by direct muscle contractions without invoking an indirect power amplification mechanism. The jumping mechanism is like that of snow fleas.

Insect-scale jumping robots enabled by a dynamic buckling cascade

“…Next, we describe the essential performance metrics of jumping and benchmark the jumping height of JUMPA robots with various beam configurations against that of insects ( 1 , 3 , 4 , 9 – 11 , 35 – 41 ), and previous robots ( 15 – 17 , 42 – 50 ). In Fig.…”

Jumping mechanism in the marsh beetles (Coleoptera: Scirtidae)

“…The extensive studies of jumping insects suggest the spring-actuated jumping www.nature.com/scientificreports/ mechanism for the fleas (Siphonaptera) 3,4 , grasshoppers and locusts (Orthoptera) 5,6,[9][10][11]29,30 , beetles Chrysomelidae and Curculionidae (Coleoptera) 25,26 , shore bugs Saldidae (Heteroptera) 17 , planthoppers Issidae (Auchenorrhyncha) 16 , froghoppers Cercopoidea (Auchenorrhyncha) 14,31 , leafhoppers (Auchenorrhyncha) 12,13,15 , and pygmy mole crickets Tridactylidae (Orthoptera) 32 . Jump by the direct muscle contraction is supposed for the bush crickets Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera) 8 , stick insects Timematidae (Phasmatodea) 18 , lacewings Chrysopidae www.nature.com/scientificreports/ (Neuropetra) 20 , caddies flies (Trichoptera) 21 , parasitoid wasps Pteromalidae, Braconidae, Figitidae, Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) 22 , snow fleas Boreidae (Mecoptera) 19 , and scorpion flies Panorpidae (Mecoptera) 23 .…”

“…A large number of hemipterans like leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) 12,13 , froghoppers (Cercopoidea) 14,15 , planthoppers (Fulgoridae) 16 , shore bugs (Heteroptera: Saldidae) 17 are known as capable jumpers. Jumping performance and mechanisms have been investigated also for the stick insects (Phasmatodea: Timematidae) 18 , snow fleas (Mecopera: Boreidae) 19 , lacewings (Neuropetra: Chrysopidae) 20 , caddies flies (Trichoptera) 21 , parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae, Braconidae, Figitidae, Ichneumonidae) 22 , and scorpion flies (Mecoptera: Panorpidae) 23 .The largest order of insects, beetles (Coleoptera), is known for the fact that its representatives have the widest range of abilities for locomotion. Beetles are capable of walking, running, flying, swimming, digging, and jumping.…”

Jumping in lantern bugs (Hemiptera, Fulgoridae)

“…Simply flapping the wings may suffice to propel take-off in some insects but others need to supplement this with leg movements, as in butterflies (Papilionoidea; Bimbard et al, 2013;Sunada et al, 1993) and Dolichopodid flies (Burrows, 2013a). In Scorpion flies (Mecoptera), however, clipping the wings does not affect take-off performance driven by leg movements (Burrows, 2019). Different combinations of legs may also be used for propulsion: fruit flies (Drosophila) use the middle pair of legs (Card and Dickinson, 2008;von Reyn et al, 2017), and the snow flea Boreus hyemalis (Mecoptera: Boreidae) uses simultaneous movement of both the middle and hind legs to propel jumps (Burrows, 2011).…”