Pygmy Mole Crickets Use Paddles on Legs to Leap from Water

CREDIT: Burrows et al., Current Biology View full size image

Pygmy mole crickets have the remarkable ability to jump right from the surface of the water. The tiny insects can jump as high as 0.7 meters and as far as a 1 meter on land. From the surface of the water they can jump distances of 5.4 times their body length. The insects have spring-loaded paddles and spurs on their hind legs that enable them to propel a ball of water downwards and launch themselves into the air.

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