Page 150 - Design in Nature

148 DESIGN IN NATURE

The Flea: the Ideal Design for High Jumps
A flea can jump more than 100 times its own body height, which is
equivalent to a human jumping 660 feet (200 metres) high. Furthermore, it
can continue jumping like this without rest for 78 hours. In general, the flea
does not fall onto its legs after the fifth jump, it lands either on its back or
head. However, it neither becomes dizzy nor gets injured, which is due to
the design of its body.
The skeleton of the insect is not inside its body. It is composed of a hard
layer of a compound called sclerotin, which wraps the entire body and is
attached to the chitin. Numerous armoured plates with limited movement
form this outer skeleton, which absorbs and eliminates the shock of
jumping.
On the other hand, fleas do not have any blood vessels. The inside of
the entire body floats in a clear and fluid blood, which acts as a cushioning
around all the internal organs and makes them immune to sudden pressure
jumps. The blood is cleaned by means of air vents scattered throughout the

Fleas are
created to jump
extremely high
in comparison to
their body size
of few
millimetres.