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Katydid Legs
Typical Insect Leg
- Notice the openings on its front legs, known as tympana, which is the sound receptors. They are the organs function like our ears, are to hear. The female katydid uses them to locate the males by their love songs.
Let's have a closer look of the katydid front leg. The drawing shows the foreleg of the katydid, which is the typical example of insect legs except there is the special organ tympana. The tympana is only found on katydids' and crickets' forelegs, and not on other legs nor on any legs of other insects.
All insects have three pairs of legs. These legs can be variously modified depending on the type of insect. Basically each leg has 6 segments. The coxa connects the leg to the thorax. Leading outward are the segments: trochanter, femur, tibia, and tarsus. The tarsus comprised of 3-5 very small segments. At the end of the last tiny segment is the claw. There are usually spines on the tibia. The tarsomere on the tarsus is the part in contact with the ground.
For more information on insect body parts, please see the Insect Scientific
