Set to the tune of Jump Little Children by Leroy Dallas, these leaproachesβSaltoblattella montistabularisβsail forward an astonishing 48 body lengths, roughly one foot or 30.5 centimeters.
The 2011 research footage was filmed by Professor Malcom Burrows and zoologist Mike Picker to study the insect’s hopping mechanics. From Wired Science:
“About 4,000 species of cockroaches are known to science, and all but the leaproach scuttle on the ground. Picker and his colleague Jonathan Colville discovered the leaproach in 2006 as the insects hopped around a field of sedge grass in South Africa…
“The new study reveals the leaproach uses its legs much like grasshoppers do, and yet β ounce for ounce β the leaproach far out-jumps locusts. While a grasshopper can jump up to 20 body lengths, a leaproach can sail forward 48 body lengths…
“‘They’re in a vertically stratified environment. It’s awfully tough to get up and down [in sedge grass], so leaproaches evolved to do what grasshoppers do β jump between stems,’ Picker said.”
Saltoblattella montistabularis was discovered on South Africa’s Table Mountain.
Watch these jumping insects videos next:
β’ The Praying Mantis Leaps
β’ Epic Catapulting Locust In Slow Motion
β’ Jumping Hoppers in Slow Motion
Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.