A hop, skip and a jump - celebrating a Leap Year

admin
, 09 January 2024
A hop, skip and a jump - celebrating a Leap Year
Long-winged Conehead Cricket © Matt Rich

Matt Rich

Ranger - Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Did you know that it takes 365.25 days for Earth to orbit the Sun? To keep our calendar year on track, an extra day is added to February every four years – making it a leap year. We thought we'd celebrate some hopping, skipping and jumping species.

Walking through a meadow on a warm summer’s day, hearing the constant humming and drone of various insects is a sound that brings a massive smile to my face. Walking through the grasses, little creatures are seen flinging themselves far and wide to escape the huge two-legged creature that have just disturbed them.

In the bustling ecosystem of insects, crickets and grasshoppers stand out as fascinating creatures renowned for their remarkable jumping and hopping abilities. These small insects belong to the order Orthoptera and play crucial roles in maintaining the balance of various ecosystems. Crickets have a varied diet feeding on insect larvae, aphids, flowers, seeds, leaves, fruit, and grasses. Grasshoppers mostly eat leaves, but also flowers, stems and seeds. They’re both also a valuable food source for a wide range of animals.

Let's delve into the incredible world of these agile creatures and explore the mechanics behind their extraordinary leaps. Jumping is an essential part of the daily lives of crickets and grasshoppers, allowing them to evade predators, locate food and communicate with potential mates. Their hind legs, specifically adapted for powerful jumps, are equipped with robust muscles and a unique joint called the femoro-tibial joint, allowing for swift and efficient movements. When a cricket or grasshopper prepares to jump, these muscles contract rapidly, storing energy in their legs like a coiled spring.

Meadow Grasshopper
Meadow Grasshopper © Matt Rich

The release of stored energy propels these insects into the air, creating a trajectory that can span several times their body length. Grasshoppers, in particular, are renowned for their exceptional jumping capabilities, with some species able to cover distances of up to 20 times their body length in a single leap. This impressive skill is attributed to the highly developed hind legs, which act as powerful catapults when engaged.

While crickets and grasshoppers share similarities in their jumping mechanisms, there are distinctions in their preferred habitats and behaviours. Crickets, often found in damp environments like grasslands and meadows, tend to exhibit shorter and more controlled jumps compared to their grasshopper counterparts. Grasshoppers, on the other hand, are commonly associated with drier regions and open fields, where their long, powerful jumps aid in escaping from potential threats.

The world of crickets and grasshoppers is filled with awe-inspiring feats of jumping and hopping. Their remarkable adaptations, from powerful hind legs to intricate jumping mechanisms, showcase the marvels of nature's engineering. As we observe these tiny creatures in action, we gain a deeper appreciation for the intricate dance that unfolds in the microcosms of our natural world.

Leave a comment

Comments

  • M Funnell:

    Crickets, eg Field, Wood, Scaly, Mole crickets and a few alien ones, are quite rare in the UK, but Bush-crickets and allies, species that used to be known as Long-horned Grasshoppers, are fairly common. Bush-crickets aren’t crickets and it’s unfortunate they haven’t a more appropriate name.
    Although grasshoppers apparently make spectacular leaps, most use their wings as well to aid the distance and speed of travel and stability. Compare the clumsy jump of the usually brachypterous (short winged) female Meadow Grasshopper with that of others. Also it doesn’t appear to be widely known that grasshoppers and longer winged bush-crickets can fly.
    If you’re young you ought to be able to hear grasshoppers, but unfortunately we all lose hearing ability as we age. A bat detector can be an aid, but is not as good as ears!

    01 Mar 2024 10:34:00

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782730270.95710 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782730270.98390.0268Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782730270.98410.0002Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782730270.98420Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782730270.98420Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/a-hop-skip-and-a-jump-celebrating-a-leap-year
    [s] => a-hop-skip-and-a-jump-celebrating-a-leap-year
    [1] => a-hop-skip-and-a-jump-celebrating-a-leap-year
)
1782730270.98440.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782730270.98560.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782730270.98750.002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22413345
1782730270.98820.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22413345
1782730270.98860.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-29 10:51:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-29 10:51:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782730270.990.0013 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='a-hop-skip-and-a-jump-celebrating-a-leap-year')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 10:51:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782730270.99280.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782730270.99340.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3290 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 10:51:00'
1782730270.99440.001 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782730270.99520.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782730270.9960.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=262 LIMIT 1
1782730270.99660.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=49 LIMIT 1
1782730270.99740.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782730270.99760.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782730270.99860.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 10:51:00' AND postSlug='a-hop-skip-and-a-jump-celebrating-a-leap-year'
1782730271.01920.0206Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782730271.01970.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782730271.02160.0018Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782730271.02180.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782730271.02280.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782730271.02390.0011 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782730271.02690.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782730271.02760.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782730271.02970.0022Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782730271.02980 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782730271.03070.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782730271.0310.0004 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782730271.03350.0025 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782730271.03460.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782730271.03520.0006 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782730271.03760.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782730271.03860.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782730271.04090.0023 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782730271.04140.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782730271.04170.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782730271.04240.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782730271.04290.0005 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='a-hop-skip-and-a-jump-celebrating-a-leap-year')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 10:51:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782730271.0450.0022 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782730271.04560.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782730271.04840.0028Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782730271.04950.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3290 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782730271.11110.0616 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782730271.11170.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782730271.11180.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782730271.11260.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782730271.11330.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782730271.11410.0008 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782730271.11620.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782730271.11680.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782730271.1190.0022 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782730271.11980.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782730271.12030.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782730271.1210.0007 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782730271.12360.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782730271.12430.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782730271.12640.0022 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782730271.12970.0032 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782730271.13060.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782730271.13120.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782730271.13390.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782730271.13460.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782730271.13680.0023 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782730271.13940.0025 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782730271.14020.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782730271.14070.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782730271.14310.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782730271.14380.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782730271.14620.0024 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782730271.14750.0013Request time: 0.1915
1782730271.14750Process time: 0.1914
1782730271.14750Memory: 1.6339