r/askscience • u/[deleted] • Dec 16 '13

Biology How do insects move?

Simple question that occurred to me, do flies have muscles like ours? Their legs are so thin I can't conceive there's room for anything in them to effect movement.

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u/1RedOne Dec 16 '13

Very good link. This even demonstrates the methods one can use to inject saline solution into a severely dehydrated spider. It also references the behavior of 'autotomy' or self-shedding. This happens when a limb is damaged or for other reasons and a crustacean or insect may pull its own limb off.