The Plant Hopper’s Gears

The plant hopper hops
from leaf to leaf,
two legs together,
or they’d come to grief,    
with a lop-sided jump
they’d just have a bump,
so the legs move in synchrony
exquisitely geared
– like a bike, and the ‘teeth’*
aren’t broken or sheared
– they’re shaped for absorbing
the shock, though they’re small*
and the hoppers can hop far
with amazing control.
Now that kind of structure
couldn’t form bit by bit,
its complexity had to
immediately fit,
it must be complete and
work right from the start
– who’d hop with a gearbox
imperfect in part?

*about 30 micrometers high