Gnat foot. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the pads and claws on the tip of a leg of a gnat, a small fly (order Diptera). Like other fl


Gnat foot. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the pads and claws on the tip of a leg of a gnat, a small fly (order Diptera). Like other flies, a gnat uses claws (two seen here, green) to help it grip rough surfaces. On smooth surfaces, the hairy pads (pulvilli, red) help the gnat to grip the surface by secreting an adhesive. The rest of the image is the hairs (red) and jointed sections (light green) of the gnat's legs.


Size: 4821px × 3624px
Photo credit: © STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: anatomical, anatomy, animal, biological, biology, claw, claws, coloured, diptera, dipteran, entomology, false-colour, false-coloured, fauna, fly, foot, gnat, healthy, insect, insecta, invertebrate, invertebrates, leg, legs, limb, nature, normal, pulvilli, pulvillus, sem, wildlife, zoological, zoology