Mantis and Mosquito: Bug Physics

Engineers could learn a thing or two by observing the dynamical brilliance of insects.

Mantis Momentum

It's a safe bet that when Strauss wrote the Blue Danube waltz, he wasn't picturing a praying mantis leaping like a ballerina. But the tune fits. Watch the video of a mantis jump, via New Scientist -- it will make you chuckle! Behold the elegant move a juvenile mantis makes while jumping in slo-mo to a rod placed by researchers. They wanted to learn how the bugs jump so unerringly to a target....