Tiny Backyard Bug Holds Record for Fastest Backflips

Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered that the globular springtail (Dicyrtomina minuta), a tiny hexapod bug, can perform the fastest backflips on Earth, achieving 368 rotations per second. The study, led by Adrian Smith, utilized high-speed cameras to capture the rapid movements, which occur too quickly to be seen in real time. The springtails were observed to launch themselves over 60 millimeters into the air, more than 60 times their own height, primarily to evade predators.

The findings, published in Integrative Organismal Biology, provide the first complete assessment of the springtail's jumping ability. The research showed that the springtails tend to jump backward and can deploy a sticky forked tube to grapple surfaces or halt their momentum. This jumping mechanism, powered by a specialized appendage called a furca, is essential for their survival, allowing them to rapidly escape threats in their environment.