Ontogenetic locomotion research focuses on the evolution of locomotion behavior in different developmental stages of a species. Unlike vertebrates, ontogenetic locomotion in invertebrates is poorly investigated. Locusts represent an outstanding biological model to study this issue. They are hemimetabolous insects and have similar aspects and behaviors in different instars. This research is aimed at studying the jumping performance of Locusta migratoria over different developmental instars. Jumps of third instar, fourth instar, and adult L. migratoria were recorded through a high-speed camera. Data were analyzed to develop a simplified biomechanical model of the insect: the elastic joint of locust hind legs was simplified as a torsional spring located at the femur-tibiae joint as a semilunar process and based on an energetic approach involving both locomotion and geometrical data. A simplified mathematical model evaluated the performances of each tested jump. Results showed that longer hind leg length, higher elastic parameter, and longer takeoff time synergistically contribute to a greater velocity and energy storing/releasing in adult locusts, if compared to young instars; at the same time, they compensate possible decreases of the acceleration due to the mass increase. This finding also gives insights for advanced bioinspired jumping robot design.

中文翻译：

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不同发育龄期对飞蝗跳跃性能的影响。

本体运动研究集中于物种在不同发育阶段的运动行为的演变。与脊椎动物不同，对无脊椎动物的个体发育运动的研究很少。蝗虫代表了研究这一问题的杰出生物学模型。它们是半代谢昆虫，在不同的幼虫中具有相似的方面和行为。这项研究的目的是研究飞蝗在不同发育龄期的跳跃性能。第三龄，第四龄和成年L的跳跃。移民通过高速相机记录下来。分析数据以建立昆虫的简化生物力学模型：蝗虫后腿的弹性关节被简化为位于半月形过程的股骨-胫骨关节处的扭转弹簧，并基于涉及运动和几何数据的能量方法。一个简化的数学模型评估了每个测试跳跃的性能。结果表明，与年轻龄期相比，更长的后腿长度，更高的弹性参数和更长的起飞时间共同有助于成年蝗虫的更大速度和能量存储/释放。同时，它们补偿了由于质量增加而引起的加速度可能降低的情况。这一发现也为高级生物启发式跳跃机器人设计提供了见识。