A springtail’s spring-loaded backflip is fast — really fast
Simone Biles has nothing on this tiny backflipper. The globular springtail (Dicyrtomina minuta) is so small it could straddle the tip of a pencil. Yet this insect-like animal can vault itself 62 millimeters (2.4 inches) in the air, spinning backward at a rate of up to 368 times per second. A jump lasts just 161…