We must not, however, allow the fascination of these beautiful objects to engross our whole attention; and it is now time for us to state some particulars connected with the _legs_ of the imago, or perfect insect. Six is the true number of legs which belong to the insect in the imago state. They are connected to its body at the thorax, and are formed of a series of minute tubes, provided internally with muscles and nerves. They are commonly divided into four parts; _a_ the haunch, _b_ the thigh, _c_ the _tibia_, and _d e_ the foot.
The front pair of legs, or, as they are generally called, the _forelegs_, are considered by some authors to be really the insect's _arms_, the last portion of them being the _hand_. Certainly they are often as useful to the insect as is this admirable organ to ourselves; not only are they serviceable in walking, but they also enable the insect to climb, to lay hold of various objects, or to catch their prey, to dig in the earth, and in many instances to clean the head and face of the creature; an operation in which many of them, and particularly flies and bees among our domestic insects, are most praiseworthily particular; having apparently an aversion to nothing so much as to a _dirty face and unbrushed jacket_! The other pairs of legs are altered in various manners in order to fit them for the different purposes for which they are required by the insect.