Rothschild M, Schlein J, Parker K, Neville C, Sternberg S
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1975 Oct 30;271(914):499-515. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1975.0064.
The flea's hind legs are the chief source of jumping power, but in species which execute large jumps, take-off is accelerated by elastic energy released from a resilin pad (homologous with the wing hinge ligaments of flying insects) situated in the pleural arch. A central click mechanism, operated by a rapid twitch of the trochanteral depressor (the starter muscle), synchronizes the separate sources of energy which power the jump. Ciné photos confirm the morphological evidence that the flea takes off from the trochanters, not the tarsi. The loss of wings, associated with lateral compression of the body and the shortening of the pleural ridge (which thus lowers the position of the pleural arch) together with modifications of the direct and indirect flight muscles, are some of the main morphological features associated with the change from a flying to a saltatorial mode of progression. The flea's take-off basically resembles that of other Panorpoid insects (Diptera, Mecoptera, etc.). The release of elastic energy from the pleural arch is a system by which the force used to move the wings of flying insects is rapidly fed back into the legs and adds power to the jump.
跳蚤的后腿是跳跃力量的主要来源，但在能进行大幅度跳跃的种类中，位于胸膜弓处的一个弹性蛋白垫（与飞行昆虫的翅铰链韧带同源）释放的弹性能会加速起跳。一个由转节降肌（启动肌肉）快速抽搐操作的中央咔嗒机制，使为跳跃提供动力的不同能量来源同步。电影照片证实了形态学证据，即跳蚤是从转节起飞，而不是跗节。翅膀的丧失，与身体的侧向压缩以及胸膜嵴的缩短（从而降低了胸膜弓的位置），再加上直接和间接飞行肌肉的改变，是与从飞行模式转变为跳跃模式相关的一些主要形态特征。跳蚤的起跳基本上类似于其他长翅目昆虫（双翅目、长翅目等）。胸膜弓弹性能的释放是一种系统，通过该系统，用于移动飞行昆虫翅膀的力量会迅速反馈到腿部，并为跳跃增加动力。
