Issus (planthopper)

Issus
Issus coleoptratus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Infraorder: Fulgoromorpha
Superfamily: Fulgoroidea
Family: Issidae
Subfamily: Issinae
Genus: Issus
Fabricius, 1803

Issus is a genus of planthoppers belonging to the family Issidae of infraorder Fulgoromorpha of suborder Auchenorrhyncha of order Hemiptera. Like most members of the order Hemiptera (popularly known as the "bug" or "true bugs" order) they live on phloem sap that they extract with their piercing, sucking mouth parts.

Planthoppers are the only animals known to possess a gear mechanism,[1] and Issus coleoptratus is the first type of planthopper to have the mechanism formally described.[2][3] The mesh sector gears do not transform velocity or torque, and they do not convey much of the power; they only synchronize the jumping motion of the hind legs, preventing yaw (rotation).

  1. ^ Stromberg, Joseph (2013-09-12), "This Insect Has The Only Mechanical Gears Ever Found in Nature", Smithsonian Magazine, retrieved 2020-11-18
  2. ^ Burrows, Malcolm; Sutton, Gregory (2013-09-13), "Interacting gears synchronize propulsive leg movements in a jumping insect" (PDF), Science, 341 (6151): 1254–1256, Bibcode:2013Sci...341.1254B, doi:10.1126/science.1240284, hdl:1983/69cf1502-217a-4dca-a0d3-f8b247794e92, PMID 24031019, S2CID 24640726
  3. ^ "Gears evolved in nature long before humans 'invented' them", theguardian.com, 2013-09-13, archived from the original on 2014-10-08