Also attached to the thorax are the three pairs of legs, each made up of five segments: coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia, and tarsus. The last portion (tarsus) is divided into five parts.
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Leg of a house fly showing femur, tibia and five segmented tarsis with an enlargement of the tip of the tarsus showing claws and sticky pads (pulvilli).
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At the tip of the tarsus is a pair of claws with a fleshy pad (pulvillus) by each. The pulvilli are bladder-like with tiny glandular hairs causing a sticky surface which enables the fly to cling to surfaces, even upside down.
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