We all know that the insects have 3 pairs of legs. The photograph is of a caterpillar of a butterfly; as such it must have only 3 pairs of legs. But in the image posted, you can clearly see that this caterpillar has 5 pairs of legs. Can you guess why?
It is true that all insects have 3 pairs of legs. What we see as 5 pairs of legs are not legs at all. They are called as 'Pseudolegs' -- false legs. With these false legs the caterpillar grips the surface on which it crawls. Keep a caterpillar on your hand and you will understand how firmly these pseudolegs hold your skin. True legs of an insect caterpillar are quite small and are incapable of gripping and for walking. At maturity, pseudolegs disappear and only true legs remain. In the caterpillar stage true legs are quite small. You might have notices that even newborn human babies have very short hands; if raised they just reach the head.
 |
| 5 pairs of legs? |
 |
| It has only 3 pairs of legs |
No comments:
Post a Comment