Moth proboscis and eye, coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). The compound eye (purple) is at right. The spiral-shaped sucking proboscis (at ce

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Moth proboscis and eye, coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). The compound eye (purple) is at right. The spiral-shaped sucking proboscis (at centre) is a distinctive characteristic of butterflies and moths and is used to suck the nectar of flowers and other fluids. At rest it is rolled into a spiral and carried between the two labial palps that point upwards to either side (only one seen here).

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Size: 5025px × 3503px
Photo credit: © DR DAVID FURNESS, KEELE UNIVERSITY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, biological, biology, close-, coloured, compound, detail, entomology, eye, false-coloured, fauna, head, insect, insecta, invertebrate, invertebrates, labial, lepidoptera, moth, mouth, mouthpart, mouthparts, nature, ommatidia, ommatidium, palp, palps, part, parts, proboscis, sem, sucking, wildlife, zoological, zoology