Fig. 2.

Takeoff performance and foot-substrate interaction of P. spumarius while jumping. (A) Takeoff velocity and (B) takeoff angle for jumps from smooth glass, smooth epoxy, and ivy leaves. (C) Images of a P. spumarius jumping from epoxy in side view, captured at 4,700 frames per second (Bottom), and ventral view using coaxial illumination (Top). Before the jump, only acutellae and arolium were visible in surface contact. At the start of the acceleration phase, spines started to pierce into the surface, and indentations remained visible even after the insect’s takeoff (arrow marks first visible indentation). Takeoff was defined as the first frame in which the animal was airborne (time set to 0 ms), and start of acceleration was defined as the frame with the first visible hind leg movements. (D and E) Scanning electron micrographs of the plastic deformation of epoxy caused by the tarsal spines.