Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 146, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 June 1916 — Have Power in Their Tails. [ARTICLE]

Have Power in Their Tails.

There is a curious family of insects —the Poduridae, or spring-tails—pos-sessed of . a sort of seventh leg or spring-piece,'which is so placed under the body as to give the creature a powerful aid in Jumping. Tests were made with various members of this family, and one tiny fellow, hardly one-fiftieth of an inch long, made a clear leap of 525 times his length. He had, of course, a great advantage in the possession of his spring-piece in performing this amazing feat. But if the toad and the kangaroo could do as well as the spring-tall in proportion to his size, the toad could hop a distance of 130 feet, and the kangaroo more than a quarter of a mile. |