So where are legs 5 and 6 in Polygonia c-album? :-) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127940521 I looked at quite a lot of pictures of this butterfly lately, and I keep seeing four legs.

It’s probably holding the front two up.

There are some species of butterflies which are standing on four legs. The caterpillars will have all 6 legs. Those prolegs behind not counted. When the caterpillars become butterflies, the front legs become attached very close to the body, almost vestigial, I guess there is a use of those front leg…

Brush-footed butterflies: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47922-Nymphalidae

It"s explained here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphalidae

Have you ever seen a butterfly using those two modified front legs? I feel like I’ve seen it before but not quite sure and I want to see what it looks like when they’re cleaning their little heads :grin: maybe send a video

You know, it seems to me that I have seen it, too, but I can’t bring up a specific memory. Maybe I just thought it.

There are some good pictures of those reduced front legs in this research article: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Reduced-first-thoracic-limbs-of-Bicyclus-anynana-Nymphalidae-Indicated-by-the-black_fig1_51595675

Different species, but here’s a good photograph showing them as well: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6s4NPMFNB8Y/XJpBJG92QeI/AAAAAAAAVns/wc84yI13SAUMPB7p_gVuyNaKNAk9TUsegCLcBGAs/s1600/HarlequinFLegs-KSK.jpg

The family Nymphalidae are characterized by their reduced front pair of legs, making it look like they only have four. Note also some males in Riodinidae and/or Lycaenidae will also have a reduced front pair of legs too.

Insects have six legs, right?

Nature Talk

sedgequeen July 31, 2022, 11:26pm 3

A whole group of butterflies are called the brush-footed butterflies because the two front legs are modified into short brushes for cleaning the head. They have only four legs that look like legs.

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Insects have six legs, right?

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