Spotted lanternflies have functional gears!
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Spotted lanternflies have functional gears!
Turns out the nymphs of the spotted lanternfly (an invasive species of a planthopper spreading across the US East coast - it got a lot of press last summer!) have gears coupling hind (jumping) legs to perfectly synchronize their movement! Not totally unexpectedly - all the other families of planthoppers within the infraorder Fulgoroidae seem to have them too.
Taken with Zeiss LSM 980 with a 10x NA .45 objective. Autofluorescence excited with the 405, 488 and 560 laser lines. I had to tile twice to get both trochanters in view.
Taken with Zeiss LSM 980 with a 10x NA .45 objective. Autofluorescence excited with the 405, 488 and 560 laser lines. I had to tile twice to get both trochanters in view.
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Re: Spotted lanternflies have functional gears!
Hah! Not just gears, but helical gears, with slanted teeth, the better to transfer torque smoothly.
Very clever, these bugs!
Excellent photos, as always...
--Rik
Very clever, these bugs!
Excellent photos, as always...
--Rik
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Re: Spotted lanternflies have functional gears!
Awesome images!
Re: Spotted lanternflies have functional gears!
"have gears coupling hind (jumping) legs to perfectly synchronize their movement"
An intriguing statement that only really comes to life when coupled with those amazing images.
An intriguing statement that only really comes to life when coupled with those amazing images.
Zeiss Standard WL & Wild M8
Olympus E-p2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Olympus E-p2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
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Re: Spotted lanternflies have functional gears!
Thanks!
You may find more about the anatomy of jumping apparatus of planthoppers here: https://elifesciences.org/articles/23824 and see more examples of trochanteral cog wheels here: https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/ ... per-gears/
You may find more about the anatomy of jumping apparatus of planthoppers here: https://elifesciences.org/articles/23824 and see more examples of trochanteral cog wheels here: https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/ ... per-gears/
Re: Spotted lanternflies have functional gears!
Thanks for the links!You may find more about the anatomy of jumping apparatus of planthoppers here: https://elifesciences.org/articles/23824 and see more examples of trochanteral cog wheels here: https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/ ... per-gears/
“They have to synchronize their legs to move at exactly the same time, or else they’d go left or right instead of straight when they jump,” says Malcolm Burrows,
a professor emeritus of zoology at the University of Cambridge in England and co-discoverer of the gears, found in a species called Issus coleoptratus.
Zeiss Standard WL & Wild M8
Olympus E-p2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Olympus E-p2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
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Re: Spotted lanternflies have functional gears!
Thanks, I was wondering.75RR wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:11 am“They have to synchronize their legs to move at exactly the same time, or else they’d go left or right instead of straight when they jump,” says Malcolm Burrows,
a professor emeritus of zoology at the University of Cambridge in England and co-discoverer of the gears, found in a species called Issus coleoptratus.
Great photos!
W°
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Re: Spotted lanternflies have functional gears!
Igor,
Excellent images as always.
I would like to know if your confocal images are using the standard detector (3 or 4 channels) or using Spectral detector?
Rogelio
Excellent images as always.
I would like to know if your confocal images are using the standard detector (3 or 4 channels) or using Spectral detector?
Rogelio
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Re: Spotted lanternflies have functional gears!
Thank you Rogelio!
Zeiss LSM 980 has a spectral detector, yes.
I.
Zeiss LSM 980 has a spectral detector, yes.
I.
RogelioMoreno wrote: ↑Thu Feb 16, 2023 2:55 pmIgor,
Excellent images as always.
I would like to know if your confocal images are using the standard detector (3 or 4 channels) or using Spectral detector?
Rogelio