When Philaenus spumarius froghoppers jump from smooth plant surfaces, they produce traction by piercing leaves, according to a study. Researching how climbing animals attach to surfaces in their environment can improve biomimetic developments. However, attachment mechanisms found in nature are not widely studied. Hanns Hagen Goetzke and colleagues used high-speed video recordings and light microscopy to examine how froghoppers accelerate and jump from epoxy, glass, and plant surfaces. When the insects jumped from smooth epoxy surfaces or ivy leaves, they made powerful leaps with take-off angles lower than 45°. Their hind legs gripped onto the leaves by piercing the surface with sharp, metal-enriched spines, leaving behind microscopic holes. The froghoppers also indented the epoxy surfaces with their hind-leg spines during acceleration, which helped them avoid slipping. However, the froghoppers always slipped when they jumped from glass, as their hind-leg spines could not pierce the hard surface to produce high traction. This previously undescribed attachment mechanism could inspire gripping mechanisms for jumping and wall-climbing robots, according to the authors.
###
Article #18-14183: "Froghoppers jump from smooth plant surfaces by piercing them with sharp spines," by Hanns Hagen Goetzke et al.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Walter Federle, University of Cambridge, UNITED KINGDOM; email: wf222@cam.ac.uk ; Hanns Hagen Goetzke, University of Cambridge, UNITED KINGDOM; email: hannshagen.goetzke@gmail.com
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences