Legs Adult Mosquito

Each thoracic segment bears a pair of long, slender legs, which are almost entirely clothed in scales. Individual legs and leg segments are denoted by prefixing fore-, mid- or hind- as appropriate. Each leg is composed of six segments, the coxa (pl. coxae), trochanter, femur (pl. femora), tibia (pl. tibiae), tarsus (pl. tarsi) and posttarsus (pl. posttarsi). The tarsus consists of five false segments termed tarsomeres. The terminal posttarsus bears a pair of ungues (sing. unguis), a pad-like or spiculose empodium, and sometimes (Culex, Deinocerites, Galindomyia and Lutzia) a conspicuous pair of pulvilli (sing. pulvillus). Widespread dissatisfaction with the term ungues has resulted in the common usage of the term claws for these structures. The various parts of the legs often bear patterns of pale and dark scaling, especially bands and stripes, that are taxonomically useful. The ungues are usually simple in females, but in most species of tribe Aedini they bear tooth-like basal processes that are useful in species identification.