Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

Fixed Action Patterns

Fixed Action Patterns

A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Incorporating buccal mass planar mechanics and anatomical features improves neuromechanical modeling of Aplysia feeding behavior.

Biological cybernetics·2025

Same author

Observations on iNaturalist reveal the establishment of non-native Eucalyptus weevil Gonipterus platensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Tamil Nadu, India.

Journal of insect science (Online)·2025

Same author

RNAi of the elastomeric protein resilin reduces jump velocity and resilience to damage in locusts.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2024

Same author

Scaling of buccal mass growth and muscle activation determine the duration of feeding behaviours in the marine mollusc Aplysia californica.

The Journal of experimental biology·2024

Same author

Elucidating the complex organization of neural micro-domains in the locust Schistocerca gregaria using dMRI.

Scientific reports·2021

Same author

Do the enlarged hind legs of male thick-legged flower beetles contribute to take-off or mating?

The Journal of experimental biology·2019

Same journal

Differential responses to photoperiod in juveniles of two migratory songbird species.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026

Same journal

A Drosophila overgrowth model reveals extracellular matrix crosslinking limits cardiovascular scaling.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026

Same journal

Control of High-speed Jumps: Removing rotation from the jumps of locusts (Schistocerca gregaria).

The Journal of experimental biology·2026

Same journal

Limits and mechanisms of honey bee colonial thermoregulation in the heat.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026

Same journal

Tactile pup loss and acoustic signal enhance selective maternal retrieval behavior in echolocating bats, Pipistrellus abramus.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026

Same journal

Transcriptional predictors of rescue behaviour in ants.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 14, 2025

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

Jumping in lantern bugs (Hemiptera, Fulgoridae).

M Burrows^1,2, A Ghosh¹, G P Sutton³

¹National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road, Bengaluru 560 065, India.

The Journal of Experimental Biology

|November 10, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Large lantern bugs use a power amplification mechanism for jumping, similar to smaller insects. Their powerful leaps, despite their size, demonstrate impressive take-off velocities and outperform other large jumping insects.

Keywords:

Escape movements High-speed imaging Locomotion Take-off

More Related Videos

A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects

A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects

Published on: December 10, 2015

A Visual Guide for Studying Behavioral Defenses to Pathogen Attacks in Leaf-Cutting Ants

A Visual Guide for Studying Behavioral Defenses to Pathogen Attacks in Leaf-Cutting Ants

Published on: October 12, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 14, 2025

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects

A Simple Flight Mill for the Study of Tethered Flight in Insects

Published on: December 10, 2015

A Visual Guide for Studying Behavioral Defenses to Pathogen Attacks in Leaf-Cutting Ants

A Visual Guide for Studying Behavioral Defenses to Pathogen Attacks in Leaf-Cutting Ants

Published on: October 12, 2018

Area of Science:

Insect biomechanics
Animal locomotion

Background:

Lantern bugs (family Fulgoridae) are among the largest jumping hemipterans.
Their significant mass (up to 0.7g) raises questions about their jumping propulsion mechanisms compared to smaller, energy-storing jumpers.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the jumping performance and kinematics of two lantern bug species.
To determine if a power amplification mechanism is employed by these large insects for jumping.

Main Methods:

High-speed video analysis of jumping lantern bugs from India and Malaysia.
Kinematic analysis of hind leg movements, acceleration, velocity, and forces during jumps.

Main Results:

Jumps are propelled by rapid, synchronous hind leg movements, with trochantera initiating motion.
Take-off velocities reached 4.65 m/s with accelerations of 77g.
The required muscle power output (21,000 W/kg) far exceeds the contractile limit, indicating a power amplification mechanism.

Conclusions:

Large lantern bugs utilize a power amplification mechanism for jumping, storing energy before movement, akin to smaller relatives.
Despite isometric scaling, they achieve high take-off velocities and outperform other large jumping insects like grasshoppers.