Amazing Jumping Plant Lice That Can Flip Their Bodies In the Air at a Remarkably Fast Rate When Startled

Dr. Adrian Smith of Ant Lab, who is also a scientist at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, explained how jumping plant lice, known as psyllid, may look like typical garden pests but they have a remarkable ability not seen in any other insects. When faced with having to make a quick escape, the psyllid is able to flip its body at a remarkably fast rate. Smith measured the flip rate to be anywhere from an incredible 212 flips per second to 389 flips per second.

There’s a type of common little plant-feeding insect, called jumping plant lice, that do the most spectacular thing when they are spooked: launch themselves front-flipping into the air doing 389 flips per second! They haven’t been filmed in much detail before, so I spent a lot of time filming them in slow-motion, macro detail because people should know how awesome these bugs that might be in their backyard are.

Fastest Front Flipping Insects

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.