Caption

Beetle foot. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the tip of the leg of a beetle. The end of an insect leg is called the tarsus. The tarsus itself has several segments, and here ends in a pretarsus that comprises a pair of adhesive hairy pads (lower centre) and a pair of hooked claws (centre right). The pads are used for walking on smooth surfaces, while the claws are used on surfaces that they can grip. Magnification: x100 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.