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First published online October 5, 2007
Journal of Experimental Biology 210, 3579-3589 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
doi: 10.1242/jeb.009092

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Kinematics of jumping in leafhopper insects (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Cicadellidae)

Malcolm Burrows

Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK

View larger version (44K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 1. Drawing of a ventral view of Cicadella viridis. The left hind leg is in its fully levated position and the right hind leg in an extended position with the coxo-trochanteral joint almost fully depressed. The distal parts of the right legs and the posterior part of the abdomen are omitted. The cartoon at top right shows the body shape of Empoasca. Scale bars, 1 mm.

View larger version (55K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Images of a jump by Graphocephala viewed from the side, captured at 4000 frames s–1 and each with an exposure time of 0.125 ms. Selected images are arranged vertically in three columns with the timing of a frame indicated relative to the frame designated as t=0 ms when the insect became airborne. (A) The levation phase. The hind legs were sequentially levated forwards and medially into their fully levated position. The time between the lowest frame of column A and the top frame of column B represents the holding phase, lasting 47.75 ms, during which the hind legs remained stationary in their fully levated position. (B,C) The jump phase. 5 ms before take-off, the hind legs began to depress and the downward thrust of the hind legs gradually raised the body. The front and middle legs lost contact with the ground at –2.0 ms. Scale bar, 2 mm.

View larger version (68K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Sequential mages of a jump by Graphocephala viewed from the side, captured at 4000 frames s–1 and each with an exposure time of 0.125 ms. (A) The first movement of a hind leg occurred 5.75 ms before take-off. (B) The continuing backwards movement of the femur and extension of the tibia raised the body from the ground so that first the middle legs and then the front legs lost contact with the ground. (C) Take-off was achieved when the hind legs were close to full extension. Scale bar, 2 mm.

View larger version (50K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 4. Images, arranged in three columns, of a jump by Cicadella towards the camera, captured at 5000 frames s–1 and each with an exposure time of 0.05 ms. The hind legs started to move at –4.4 ms and take-off occurred in the last frame at time 0 ms. Scale bar, 2 mm.

View larger version (54K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 5. Images of Cicadella viewed from underneath as it jumped from the front wall of the chamber. (A–C) Sequence of images of the movements leading to take-off were captured at 5000 frames s–1 with an exposure time of 0.05 ms, and are arranged in three columns. Scale bar, 2 mm.

View larger version (26K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 6. Graphs of leg and body movements during the jump by Graphocephala shown in Fig. 3. (A) Six points on the legs and body (indicated in the cartoon) are plotted against time for 7 ms preceding and 3 ms following take-off. Zero on each axis represents the position of the body before any jumping movements began. The first movement of a hind leg started 5.75 ms before take-off (left black arrow and yellow bar). The middle legs lost contact with the ground 3.75 ms before take-off and the front legs 2.5 ms before take-off. (B) Sequential movements of the same points as the insect jumped through the field of view of the stationary camera. The vertical co-ordinate of a point is plotted against its horizontal co-ordinate, with each point separated by 0.25 ms in time. The horizontal arrowheads and the linking lines indicate the positions at take-off and allow the corresponding positions of these points to be read frame by frame at different times during the jump.

View larger version (22K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 7. Graphs of the angular changes of two joints of a hind leg during a jump by Aphrodes. The trochanter was progressively depressed about the coxa and the tibia extended about the femur. The first depression movement of the trochanter (left yellow bar) began at –2.75 ms before take-off (right yellow bar). The body–trochanteral angle (blue lines and triangles) was measured as the angle of the femur against the longitudinal axis of the body and therefore includes any changes in the angle between the trochanter and femur (see inset photograph and drawing). These are likely to be small relative to the changes at the coxo-trochanteral joint. The femoro-tibial angle is represented by red lines and squares and the body by black lines.

View larger version (64K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 8. The attitude of the body (see angle measured in top frame of A) is set by movements of the front and middle pairs of legs. Selected frames from a jump of Aphrodes viewed from the side, captured at 4000 frames s–1 and with an exposure of 0.25 ms. (A) During the holding phase, the front and middle legs were depressed and extended so that the angle of the body was raised from 23° to 42°. (B) The hind legs were then depressed further raising the body angle to 58° at take-off and launching the jump at a take-off angle of 50°. Scale bar, 2 mm.

View larger version (38K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 9. Jumps and wing movements by Empoasca. Images were captured at 1000 frames s–1 and an exposure of 0.5 ms, with the insect viewed ventrally. (A) A jump in which the wings were initially opened but then only flapped once the jump was complete and the insect was airborne. The images are arranged in four columns. Scale bar, 2 mm. (B) A second jump by the same Empoasca in which the angular changes of the coxo-trochanteral and femoro-tibial joints are plotted together with the forward movement of the body and the wing movements. The drawings are tracings from the original images to show the movements of the hind legs.

View larger version (85K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 10. Jumping by Iassus nymphs that do not have moveable wings. Images were captured at 2000 frames s–1 and with an exposure of 0.1 ms. (A) A jump viewed from the side. (B) A jump away from the camera. (C) A jump toward the camera. Scale bar, 2 mm.

View larger version (41K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 11. Co-ordination of the legs during horizontal walking by a Empoasca. The legs were moved in a tripod gait with the hind legs contributing to each step. The contribution of the long hind legs imparted a sideways movement to the body so that it oscillated about the mean forward path. Images were captured at 1000 frames s–1; pictures at the top show three images from one step cycle at the times indicated. Scale bar, 2 mm.