Amorous planthopper bugs shake abdomen ‘snapping organ’ to attract mates

Planthopper bugs may be small, but they attract mates from afar by sending vibrational calls along plant stems and leaves using fast, rhythmic motions of their abdomen. In a new study publishing March 12 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, researchers at the University of Oxford show how a newly-discovered “snapping organ” enables courting bugs of both sexes to produce this shaking motion through a combination of muscle action and elastic recoil.