Articles

Froghoppers

by Anonymous

(Excerpted from an article about frogs and froghoppers)

While a frog’s leap is impressive, research has shown that froghopper insects ( Philaenus spumarius ) should be hailed as the champion high jumpers of the world. These 6-mm– (¼-inch)–long insects can spring 70 cm (2 ft 9½ in) into the air—if it could be scaled up (notwithstanding note 1), it would be like a human jumping over a 210-metre (700-ft) skyscraper! And consider this: unlike frogs, kangaroos and crickets, which can all make use of the leverage provided by their long legs, froghoppers use their relatively short and light hind legs for jumping. So how do they do it?

While their leg muscles are indeed immensely powerful, the secret to the froghopper’s spontaneous quick-fire spring (which takes less than 1 millisecond, i.e. 1⁄ 1,000 of a second) is a specialized catapult mechanism that locks the legs into the cocked position until sufficient force is built up to break the lock. ‘The legs snap open and all the force is applied at once’, explained Cambridge University ’s Head of Zoology, Professor Malcolm Burrows, who calculated that froghoppers exert a force up to 414 times their body weight. This is much higher than other jumpers such as fleas (135 times), locusts (8 times) and humans (2–3 times). Other experts in animal locomotion agree that the froghopper insect is certainly impressive. ‘It would almost make you believe in God’, said Adelaide University’s Professor Russell Baudinette, who added that the mechanism the bug uses to store the energy needed to propel itself so high is still far from understood. Can you imagine if people could jump like a froghopper? Actually, I don’t think anyone of human size would want to jump like a froghopper—or even a frog, for that matter. Because it’s one thing to leap … but it’s quite another to land! Yet frogs and froghoppers can quite safely do both—so, here’s one jump that we can make. We can jump to the obvious conclusion that their remarkable abilities are surely evidence of a Designer! ‘For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse’ (Romans 1:20).

http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/4789/

Used by permission of Creation Ministries International: www.creationontheweb.com