The researchers analyzed the middle legs and the enlarged hind legs of the horsehead grasshopper, which are used to propel the insect into the air when it jumps. The femur-tibia joints (“knee” joints) are clearly visible in all the legs. Photograph courtesy of ©Tom Matheson.
Neurobiologists from the University of Leicester, England, have shown that insect limbs can move without muscles, a finding that they say may provide engineers with new ways to improve the control of robotic and prosthetic limbs. Their work helps to explain how insects control their movements using a close interplay of neuronal control and “clever biomechanical tricks,” said lead researcher Tom Matheson, PhD, a Reader in neurobiology at the University of Leicester.
