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The legs of all
insects are made up of the same basic parts - femur, trochanter, coxa,
tibia and tarus, but they can differ considerably. At left, is the
rear leg of a cockroach. It is long and lean, made for running -
as anyone who has watched them scamper across the kitchen know.
They have spines which point backward. They are used for holding
onto surfaces. Compare it to the rear leg of the
grasshopper. It has a large, strongly-muscled femur to help it
leap into the air. Such leaps are often used to get it off the
ground so that it can start flying. |
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| Honeybee Leg |
Mole Cricket Leg |
Water Beetle Leg |
| The Honeybee's back legs are covered with
hair. Pollen sticks to the them and is collected into a special
area on the leg called a pollen basket. The Water Beetle's legs
are fringed with hair which helps push it through the water. The Mole
Cricket's legs are short and spade-like, making them especially useful
for digging. |
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Glossary |
coxa - the basal segment of the insect leg, somewhat comparable to the
ball joint where human leg fits into thigh.
trochanter - leg segment between coxa and femur.
femur - the third leg segment, comparable to human thigh bone.
tibia - the fourth leg segment, or shin bone.
tarsus - the part of the leg beyond the tibia - the foot. |
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