Muzzle
A catch leg is a leg that has been transformed for the purpose of catching prey in many groups of predatory insects , and it is particularly pronounced in fishing horrors .
The tentacles are formed from the tibia (splint) and the femur (thigh) of the first pair of legs. The tibia often has many thorns and a large terminal claw; it can be folded like a pocket knife against the thorn-reinforced femur. As a rule, these two leg links are heavily sclerotized and equipped with powerful muscles. For greater mobility and reach, the coxes (hip joints) are usually extended and freely movable.
The catch legs are not only used to grab prey, but also to hold the prey when it is consumed. This makes it possible for predatory insects to use very mobile insects as food.
The catching horrors have particularly highly developed catch legs with which they can strike within 0.1 seconds to catch a victim. Many species can even catch flies from the air with this precise catching device. While waiting for prey, the fangs are raised and held in a typical waiting position against the body.
Other groups of insects that have developed tentacles are, for example, the captive , some groups of bed bugs (e.g. predatory bugs ), predatory flies or some dance flies . The design of the tentacles is mostly based on the same scheme, but despite their similar appearance is by no means an indication of the relationship between the individual groups, but rather a uniform adjustment to a similar way of life ( convergence ).