do caterpillars have legs

Caterpillar body consists of three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. Swallowtail caterpillars have a forked gland called an osmeterium at the head that pops up and emits a smell (not necessarily a bad odor) when a threat is perceived. They can also have a variable number of stumpy false legs (called prolegs), which help them to move and cling to things. Caterpillars may have up to five pairs of abdominal prolegs and never more but Sawfly larvae always have six or more pairs. Front legs. Most caterpillars have cylindrical bodies consisting of multiple segments, with three pairs of true legs on the thorax and several pairs of short, fleshy prolegs on the abdomen. However, not all caterpillars have this same distribution of legs. It's a … 2. It works for them. Most are whitish, yellowish, or brownish, with few markings. To become a butterfly, a caterpillar first digests itself. Do Monarchs that migrate to Mexico in the fall make the trip back to the area from which they started? The prolegs are not real legs and they don’t have joints. Much as one sees more than six legs on a caterpillar, only the six legs found on its thorax are true legs. It was about 1 1/2 inches long. Male and female moths are quite similar in appearance, and have a wing span of 45 to 51 mm. The rear set are fleshy stubs called prolegs, with tiny hooks for gripping leaves and plant stems. Most caterpillars share a number of characteristics, including an elongated body and a hardened head capsule. Caterpillar, larva of a butterfly or moth (Lepidoptera). Part 2: The caterpillar experiment 1. Wiki User Answered 2010-12-20 22:13:43. yes. 1. As the caterpillar continues to eat, its body grows considerably. While many of us are just noticing the caterpillars now, they have actually been growing for many weeks, high up in the trees, she said. Technically, caterpillars have only 6 "true" legs (the ones closest to the head) that are attached to the caterpillar's thorax. Painted Lady Butterflies enjoy eating oranges, watermelon, other fruits, and sugar water. Caterpillars use small hooks on their feet to climb plants. Front legs. They have six jointed legs and then 1 to 5 (depending on group) pairs of soft unjointed legs called prolegs. Adult flannel moths are chunky-bodied, and the bodies, legs, and wings are very hairy, giving them a fluffy appearance. Prolegs help the caterpiller grip and climb. Experts sometimes use the arrangement and the length of these hooks to identify caterpillars at the family level. Yes, a late instar (older) caterpillar DOES have wings! Caterpillar, larva of a butterfly or moth (Lepidoptera). In addition to the wasp, the caterpillar should have provoked a few “oohs” and “aahs,” at the least. No, only caterpillars, which have 3 pairs of legs, become a butterfly or a moth. Butterfly caterpillars always have 5 pairs of prolegs and are covered with fine hairs. Prolegs are fleshy, false, unsegmented legs, usually found in pairs on the third through sixth abdominal segments. The worms shed their skins several times, grow larger and eventually form a … The number of legs is a constant throughout its life, depending only on the species. Caterpillars usually have three pairs of small, but noticeable, true legs at the front and up to 5 pairs of fleshy false legs at the back. The individual parts of the chrysalis are more difficult to see. Caution! The answer may surprise you! The front pair of legs are smaller than the other two pairs and have started to migrate slightly nearer to the caterpillar’s head. Most caterpillars of the larger moths and butterflies have 3 pairs of true legs, and most have 5 pairs of prolegs on their abdomen. Monarch larvae have two different kinds of legs, true and false. Patrick Coin / … Caterpillar’s abdomen has prolegs, on the flip side, the butterfly’s abdomen has no legs. The true legs are segmented, with joints like our knees and ankles. Small structures attach the wings to the thorax, … Contents [ show] I have lost 5 caterpillars to them already. Cankerworms have a distinctive appearance and movement because they have fewer fleshy legs along the abdomen than do typical caterpillars. Prolegs are different than "true" legs in that they are not segmented, acting more like suction cups than jointed appendages! The prolegs are not segmented, but are cylindrical stumps. The females have thin antennae and males have featherlike antennae; often, the two sexes have slightly different colorations, too. Look for a head, which will have a pair of jaws for eating plants, a thorax, which contains most of the caterpillar’s legs, and a long abdomen, which can also have a few sets of legs. Within the next hour the chrysalis smooths out and hardens. The rest of the legs are "false" legs or (prolegs) that grow from the caterpillar's abdomen, and vary in number from species to species. The soft prolegs bear hooks on the ends which the caterpillar uses to cling to foliage, bark, and silk. Green caterpillars are mostly found feeding on the leaves. Caterpillars are most known for chewing on foliage and as a source of damage to plants, shrubs, and other garden plants. In North America, the reason for at least part of their name is pretty obvious— the species we see most frequently have very long, thin legs. Most are whitish, yellowish, or brownish, with few markings. Caterpillars can see only black and white while the butterfly can see all colors. Have students pick leaves to feed the caterpillars (one solanaceous leaf, one non-solanaceous leaf) Set up a choice test for caterpillars to choose between two leaves. Top Answer. This has been a bad year for the tachnid flies. Are they antennae? Some crawl, moving each pair of prolegs and their true legs in sequence. These moths are slow-flying and active during daylight hours, which contrasts them with other moth species which are usually nocturnal. The fuzzy, hairy, silky caterpillars in this moth family can sting. Identify the 3 major segments of the caterpillar’s body. All types of bee, queen, drone and worker have the same number of legs — six. Caterpillars are the larvae, or young, of butterflies and moths . Since caterpillars are insects, they only have six true legs that allow them to grasp onto surfaces. Don’t insects have 6 legs, not 16? How many legs does a caterpillar have? That means, once they grow up, they become either a butterfly or moth. Legs : Caterpillars have six legs, like all insects Prolegs : Because they have such long bodies, caterpillars have some extra limbs called pro-legs to support their bodies. Most cankerworms have five pairs of fleshy abdominal legs, including the pair at the tail end. Caterpillars have two sets of legs. Although much of the maturing butterfly… A caterpillar's primary activity is eating. True legs are segmented legs and always come in three pairs, whilst prolegs are unsegmented and vary between two and five pairs. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Caterpillars are part of the four-stage lifecycle of every butterfly and moth: egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult. It was completely clear (like invisible) other than the legs. [ Answer] Q8. Elm SAWFLY. But certain groups of cells survive, turning the soup into eyes, wings, antennae and other adult structures “The 'feet' seen in my post are the fake legs, known as caterpillars … 2. It resembles a snake’s tongue. It is a common misconception that caterpillars have too many legs. The head has six small eyes (stemmata) on each side that You will see the damage before you ever see the caterpillars. Not everybody reacts to these hairs however. Why do Monarchs have only 4 legs? The larvae have to eat continuously to gather the energy they need to enter the pupal stage and metamorphosize. Adult flannel moths are chunky-bodied, and the bodies, legs, and wings are very hairy, giving them a fluffy appearance. Most caterpillars are herbivores, but a few are carnivores (some eat ants, aphids, or other caterpillars) or detritivores.