Insect legs play a crucial role in various modes of locomotion,including walking,jumping,swimming,and other forms of movement.The flexibility of their leg joints is critical in enabling various modes of locomotion.The...Insect legs play a crucial role in various modes of locomotion,including walking,jumping,swimming,and other forms of movement.The flexibility of their leg joints is critical in enabling various modes of locomotion.The frog-legged leaf beetle Sagra femorata possesses remarkably enlarged hind legs,which are considered to be a critical adaptation that enables the species to withstand external pressures.When confronted with external threats,S.femorata initiates a stress response by rapidly rotating its hind legs backward and upward to a specific angle,thereby potentially intimidating potential assailants.Based on video analysis,we identified 4 distinct phases of the hind leg rotation process in S.femorata,which were determined by the range of rotation angles(0°−168.77°).Utilizing micro-computed tomography(micro-CT)technology,we performed a 3-dimensional(3D)reconstruction and conducted relative positioning and volumetric analysis of the metacoxa and metatrochanter of S.femorata.Our analysis revealed that the metacoxa–trochanter joint is a“screw-nut”structure connected by 4 muscles,which regulate the rotation of the legs.Further testing using a 3D-printed model of the metacoxa–trochanter joint demonstrated its possession of a self-locking mechanism capable of securing the legs in specific positions to prevent excessive rotation and dislocation.It can be envisioned that this self-locking mechanism holds potential for application in bio-inspired robotics.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.32270460)the Third Xinjiang Scientific Expedition Program(No.2021xjkk0605)。
文摘Insect legs play a crucial role in various modes of locomotion,including walking,jumping,swimming,and other forms of movement.The flexibility of their leg joints is critical in enabling various modes of locomotion.The frog-legged leaf beetle Sagra femorata possesses remarkably enlarged hind legs,which are considered to be a critical adaptation that enables the species to withstand external pressures.When confronted with external threats,S.femorata initiates a stress response by rapidly rotating its hind legs backward and upward to a specific angle,thereby potentially intimidating potential assailants.Based on video analysis,we identified 4 distinct phases of the hind leg rotation process in S.femorata,which were determined by the range of rotation angles(0°−168.77°).Utilizing micro-computed tomography(micro-CT)technology,we performed a 3-dimensional(3D)reconstruction and conducted relative positioning and volumetric analysis of the metacoxa and metatrochanter of S.femorata.Our analysis revealed that the metacoxa–trochanter joint is a“screw-nut”structure connected by 4 muscles,which regulate the rotation of the legs.Further testing using a 3D-printed model of the metacoxa–trochanter joint demonstrated its possession of a self-locking mechanism capable of securing the legs in specific positions to prevent excessive rotation and dislocation.It can be envisioned that this self-locking mechanism holds potential for application in bio-inspired robotics.
