Abstract
IN July last I was breeding some Zygœna filipendulœ (six-spot Burnet moth) from pupæ taken in a chalk-pit near Cambridge, one of which was developed into a moth with five wings; four of these correspond to the normal wings in this species and are perfect in every respect, as also are five of the legs. The sixth leg (a hind leg) is absent, its place being filled up by the extra wing, which springs from the exact point at which the missing leg would naturally join the body. In appearance the extra wing resembles the ordinary hind wing of the species, but is only about half its usual size. It is of a yellowish-red tinge, and not so thickly covered with scales as the other wings of the insect. Of the sixth leg there is no external trace whatever, as far as I can see; in fact it would seem at first sight as if the leg had, by some means or other, been transformed into a wing.
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RICHARDSON, N. Zygœna Filipendulæ. Nature 16, 361 (1877). https://doi.org/10.1038/016361e0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/016361e0
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