No.29 Locusta migratoria

An insect belonging to the grasshopper family of the order Grasshopperidae, the grasshopper is found in grasslands throughout Japan and around the world. Characteristically, it is not one of the largest, but the largest one is over 60 mm, and it jumps phenomenally.

This sample was CT scanned at the request of Bandai Co. This 3D data is used in the new “Tonosama Grasshopper” of the capsule toy “Ikimono Dai Zukan” series.
Bandai Co., Ltd. “The Big Book of Ikimono”:https://gashapon.jp/dangomushi/special/adv_grasshopper/

The hind legs are more developed than in the ombudfly previously CT scanned, and the muscles of the hind legs and “resilin,” a rubber-like protein in the joints, are used for jumping. They jump by muscle contraction and resilin elongation, and when they land, they absorb the shock with their leg muscles.

This mechanism allows them to jump about 20 times their body length, the highest record held by any insect that does not have the ability to fly.