Why do insects need legs? There seemed to be only one definite answer to this question: for movement, of course. In fact, the legs of insects perform several functions.
The function of an insect's limbs depends on the environment in which it lives, how it feeds and defends itself. Therefore, the paws of different species are adapted for digging passages, burying dead animals, making nests, protecting against attack, capturing food, jumping, swimming, and running.
Hexapods
Most insects, with all the variety of habits and sizes, have the same characteristics. So, in this case, to the question of how many legs insects have, the correct answer is “Six.” Three pairs of limbs are observed in ants and fleas, mantises and weevils, and in more than a billion species. True, the paws differ in structure, and in connection with this, oddly enough, in purpose. “How is it possible,” you will be surprised, “are the legs really intended not only for moving the body along the surface?” It turns out that this is true. Habitual concepts are undergoing significant changes; you just have to pay attention to the small (in size) inhabitants of the planet. They, as scientists say, mastered the earth long before mammals, have a serious organization that allows them to exist excellently and not pay attention to the “king of nature.”
What are the legs of insects?
The purpose of the limbs determines their name. Therefore, when you are asked: “How many legs do insects have?”, feel free to answer with the question: “Which ones?” And they are adjectives, running, digging and others. Usually only one pair of limbs is special. This is due to the lifestyle of a particular creature. For example, the front pair of the praying mantis is grasping. The locust or grasshopper is distinguished from its relatives by a pair of jumping limbs. They are immediately noticeable by their length and thickness. Cockroaches have running legs that are elongated. Digging limbs are observed in mole crickets. They are short and plump, strong. They usually dig with their front paws. Water lovers are the owners of swimming limbs. They are comfortable to row due to the hairs and flattened shins. How many walking legs do insects have in this case? The answer depends on the species. Unspecialized limbs are used for movement. They can be considered walking.
Limb structure
Despite the variety of types, all legs are created almost identically. They consist of five departments. The magnifying glass is attached to the chest by a basin. Then comes the vetluga, thigh, and shin. The leg ends with a paw. Such a complex structure ensures the speed and maneuverability of the insect. Any limb ends in a claw. Specialized legs may be underdeveloped - then they lack some elements. Regardless of the degree of development, the number of legs in insects includes all limbs. The structure of the legs is not limited to the described elements. Each of them is divided into subsections and has options. So, for example, the foot can consist of several (up to five) segments. Such difficulties lead to the fact that sometimes only scientists can reliably tell how many legs insects have. Below is an interesting example.
Wasp enemies
Despite the serious poisonous weapon in the form of a sting, wasps are often attacked by other insects and become victims of birds and mammals.
- Ants left without a queen destroy nests. Weak, sick individuals can become victims of these insects.
- The fan is paradoxical. The beetle makes its way into the hive, into the burrow of ground wasps, and lays eggs. Larvae develop on the body of young wasps.
- Hornets. The most formidable enemy of the wasp family is the killer wasps themselves, which have a significant advantage in size and number. Hornets completely devastate a family in one attack.
- Buzzard birds hunt wasps. The chicks are fed with adults and larvae.
In late autumn, the activity of the wasp family decreases; they become slow and inactive. They become victims of insects and many birds. In early spring, bears search for insects under stumps and bark.
Wasps
- a name that does not have a strictly scientific definition for some insects from the suborder stalked-bellied ( Apocrita
) order Hymenoptera. In principle, these are all stinging stalked bellies that are not related to bees and ants.
Bee
Everyone knows this hard work. It flies, pollinates flowers, collects honey... How many pairs of legs does an insect have, and are all of its limbs like this? It turns out that the bee has special baskets on its forelimbs into which it places pollen. On the very last segment, the tarsus, there are fibers called brushes. With them the bee collects a valuable product. If you look closely, it turns out that the front pair are almost arms with a very complex structure. But scientists do not recognize this fact. These limbs belong to the legs and are called collective limbs. Let's count the number of walking legs in bee insects. If two legs are devoted to collecting operations, then the insect moves with the rest. This means that she has two pairs of walking legs. This is basically how the calculation is done, but not for everyone.
Why gears?
While studying the number of legs in insects of different classes, their structure and functions, scientists came across an unexpected fact. Some of them have an interesting mechanism in their structure - a gear. Schematically, it can be represented in the form of two jagged wheels that are interlocked. Through the protrusions they interact and synchronize movement. Why is this? It turns out that this mechanism allows insects to jump at tremendous speed. This miracle lives in America, it is called Jesus. It is not capable of flight, but it makes amazing jumps. Even a speeding car will not be able to overtake it during takeoff. It is interesting that these legs are located not on the sides, but at the bottom of the insect. This makes his life problematic. If you do not push off synchronously, then the jump will not work. The insect simply circles on one leg. Evolution has eliminated this effect with a mechanical device whose purpose is to make the shocks synchronous. The scientists' surprise knew no bounds. This is the first recorded fact of the use of engineering in the structure of living beings.
Many people are confused about the types of invertebrates when answering the question of how many pairs of legs insects have. Spiders and centipedes of all kinds are mistakenly included among them, which is fundamentally incorrect. Later we will say a few words about them, but for now we will turn our attention to representatives of the Insect class.
Main distinguishing feature
Very often, many people who do not know biology well confuse ants with mites or spiders. In fact, the answer is simple - mites have 8 legs, and ants have 6 legs. Our arthropod fauna includes only spiders, ticks and ants. There are some beetles that can imitate the body shape of an ant in order to enter their nest. It is quite difficult to distinguish them from ants.
Laboring insects use their legs for more than just running. Due to the peculiarity of placing them wider than its body, as well as their strength, the insect lifts the weight above itself and carries it. The mass of the load can be 50 times the total mass of the ant itself.
The feet are also used to measure distance. This is what ants living in deserts do. They serve as a navigational tool for them. The insect remembers how many steps it takes before turning and makes corrections, focusing on the angle.
Scientists have discovered an odor in the feet of ants that releases strong-smelling pheromones. These substances are used for marks during movement. Thanks to this, other individuals can follow the path, since it will become noticeable to them. A large number of marks will attract more brothers.
Sometimes mistakes happen in placing the marks, after which the rest of the ants begin to lose their way and run in a circle. They close their path with a fresher trail, which can later become a real disaster for the whole family.
Thanks to their thin but mobile legs, ants are able to work wonders, performing very difficult daily work.
Cicada
The world of insects also has its own record holders. Thus, the structure of the limbs of the penny cicada allows it to jump to incredible heights, given its small size. If we draw an analogy with a person, we get two hundred and ten meters. It is clear that this insect has a pair of jumping limbs, very strong and fast. They act like a catapult, powerfully sending the body upward. In this case, the acceleration reaches four thousand meters per second. And in order not to slide off the plants on which the insect feeds, its front legs are equipped with sharp spines.
Everything about OSes - interesting facts
Individual specialists study the life of wasps and continue to amaze ordinary people with interesting facts.
- Little wasps. They are representatives of social, ordinary species. The body length of the female reaches 20 mm. Drones, workers, males - about 18 mm.
- Tree wasp. Includes many varieties, has a bright black and orange color. The size range ranges from 10 to 60 mm. The most dangerous representative of this genus is the hornet, which can be distinguished by its large dimensions. An interesting representative is the synodica wasp, about which there is extremely little information.
- Asian hornet. The most dangerous wasp. In China and Japan, 50 people die from bites every year, according to official statistics. For an allergy sufferer, one bite from a giant killer pest can be fatal. The size of the hornet reaches 5.6 cm.
- Great spotted scolius. This species is the most beautiful representative of large wasps. The female’s body size is 55 mm, the male’s is 32 mm. Lays larvae on the body of larvae of cockchafers and rhinoceros. Leads a primitive, solitary lifestyle. Despite its impressive size, it is safe for humans. The consequences of the bite are numbness.
- German women. Externally, wingless, furry females resemble an ant. Body size does not exceed 30 mm. The female has a bright color, the males of this species are brown in color. They do not build their own nests; they parasitize in the hives of bees and other wasps.
There are extremely many representatives of this species of Hymenoptera in the world, each of them is unique and has its own characteristics.
Water bugs
All aquatic insects are of interest from the point of view of the structure of their limbs. They demonstrate a completely different, but also unique adaptation. Science has asked how they can float on the surface of the water and not drown? It turned out that the water beetle has a kind of oar on its hind legs. Special hairs have grown on them, with which the insect makes rowing movements. This is how it floats on water. Some species are equipped with thickened and widened segments (this is the last section of the leg). Thanks to this structure, they can float perfectly on the water. Although these insects prefer to live in calm waters. It is difficult for them to fight against strong currents. The little creature does not have enough strength for this.
Literature
Dragonfly and others
Another amazing representative of the insect world. This flyer uses her limbs in a special way. Her legs are equipped with stiff bristles. When a dragonfly flies, it arranges its limbs in such a way that it forms a kind of net. With this device she gets her food!
Small insects, caught in the interweaving of bristles, immediately become prey and are eaten by the dragonfly. The variety of ways and methods of using insect legs is truly enormous. They are not only designed for walking, like mammals. They are used to row, and cut, and grab. Insects also use their legs to clean their antennae. For this purpose, the limbs are equipped with special grooves. But some species of butterflies use their front legs exclusively for rubbing their eyes. These limbs are atrophied and equipped with special hairs.
Links
- Keys to dragonflies based on naiads and adults. Dragonflies of the Southern Urals.
- Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) (English). Featured Creatures. University of Florida. Retrieved June 29, 2022. Archived July 8, 2022.
- Dragonflies and Damselflies. Odonata Information Network. Retrieved June 29, 2022. Archived October 14, 2017.
- OdonataCentral (English). Dragonfly Society of the America. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved June 29, 2022. Archived June 29, 2022.
- Dragonflies (English). Slater Museum of Natural History. University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA. Pugetsound.edu. Retrieved June 29, 2022. Archived February 6, 2022.
- Resources for the study of Odonata in Canada. Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada. Biological Survey of Canada. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Superclass: Hexapoda Class: Insecta Subclass: Pterygota Infraclass: Paleoptera
Homoptera dragonfliesHomoptera dragonfliesAnisozygopteraThis article is one of the selected articles in the Russian section of Wikipedia. This article won the article of the year competition and was recognized as the 2022 article of the Russian Wikipedia.What about centipedes and spiders?
Contrary to popular belief, and even to the name, the centipede has not forty legs, but only thirty. By the way, they appear in an extremely interesting way in an invertebrate. At the beginning of its existence, it has only eight legs (almost a spider). Then the centipede begins to grow, the body lengthens, and additional limbs gradually grow. It turns out that the question of the number of legs of a centipede is closely related to its life expectancy.
And this creature treats its limbs very carelessly. As soon as it senses a threat, for example, a paw is stuck to the web, without thinking twice, they simply get rid of it. We can say that this is a kind of defense mechanism. Very convenient, isn't it? Especially considering that the centipede is capable of regenerating limbs.
Spider... Strange as it may sound, this representative of the animal world is not an insect. It has eight legs, not six, like insects, and the body consists of only two parts (the cephalothorax and the abdomen). In most cases, all spiders are predators, while insects mostly feed on vegetation.
Types of wasps
The main classification divides these insects into 2 large groups.
Social wasps
They can be called differently, including paper. They form numerous families with up to 1 million individuals. They build nests of different sizes. A standard hive is the size of an apple, the largest being 60 cm in diameter. An image of the photograph can be seen below.
There is a clear division into castes. Individuals communicate with each other using sounds and signals. At the head of the family is the female queen, who is engaged in the reproduction of offspring. Some species of wasps provide several fertile females in one hive, but they do not pretend to be the queen, they simply help increase the number of members of the wasp society. Close-up of the wasp next.
Singles
They are distinguished by primitive behavior, each individual lives separately. There are no nests as such, there is no swarm. Most of them are predators. Eggs are laid on the abdomen of the larvae of large beetles, spiders, etc. The larva develops independently, eating the victim from the inside. At the end of the stage, it pupates and remains in this form for the winter. In spring, adults appear. The venom of some solitary wasps is extremely poisonous; the bite has been compared to piercing the skin with a hot nail. Photos with names can be seen below.
Social wasps are often called paper wasps, wood wasps, because their nests look like a cocoon woven from toilet paper, and nests are built on a tree, under the roof of wooden buildings, attics, hollows, and old stumps. Solitary wasps include sand, burrowing, and road wasps. Among them there are quite harmless, useful creatures, parasites, killers.
Wasps are ubiquitous in Russia. Among them there are polystina, vespin, scoli, road, typhy, sand.
