Steinernema carpocapsae jumps with greater velocity and acceleration than previously reported

Abstract

Infective juveniles of the insect-parastic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae canjump greater than 6 times their height, a striking evolved novelty in some species of this genus. Using high-speed videography, we observed the kinematics of Steinernema carpocapsae spontaneousjumping behavior. Our analysis places a lower bound on the velocity and acceleration of these worms.