Subject: Butterflies

From: Scott-Weekly Family <[email-masked]>
Date: 14 May 1996 09:51:58 GMT

Can anyone tell me how many legs a butterfly has?

We assumed that they have 6 legs since they are part of the insect 
family, but my mother has just found a 4 legged monarch butterfly!

We have looked in a number of sources but can only find pictures taken 
>from  above the butterfly!

---

From: Mark David Deering <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 12:59:51 -0400

I would imagine that the unfortunate butterfly that you found has had the bad
experience of having a couple of legs removed ( probably the hard way!)
On a lighter note members of the family Nymphalidae have the two forelegs
greatly reduced and these are not used in walking, so you need to take a close
look.

                     Hope this helps.   :)

Mark

---

From: [email-masked] (Pierre A Plauzoles)
Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 03:41:50 GMT

>from above the butterfly!

The monarch, classified as a nymphalid by some (as a danaid by others who 
place it and its relatives in a separate family) has four functional legs 
and two non-functional legs (the front legs).  Some species, such some 
snakes (I don't know if the same situation is found among insects), legs are 
truly vestigial and only a few small remnants, whereas other species have 
legs there only slightly atrophied.

Either way, we are talking of "exceptions that prove" one rule or another 
in some way.

-- 
Pierre Plauzoles   [email-masked]
Canoga Park, California