Flowing

It may seem as though I’m behind in my Inktober prompts, but I am working through them, and I think I might just make it through the month. Now that I’ve discovered the fun of making doodle monsters and other weird creatures, I’m actually looking forward to my pen-and-ink time each morning.

So, for today, meet Flo.

When I thought of flowing and tried to combine that with a monster, I started drawing wavy lines. I did think of an octopus, but Flo deserved more legs or tentacles — or whatever they are.

But what can I find educational about this Monsterus influuntis? Well, she certainly made me curious. Are there any creatures in the world who actually have sixteen legs?

Here’s what I learned:

• Snakes have zero legs
• Birds have two legs.
• Humans have two legs (but four limbs).
• Most mammals, reptiles, and amphibians have four legs.
• Echinoderms — such as starfish — usually have five legs.
• Insects typically have six legs.
• Octopi and arachnids have eight legs.
• Decapods — crabs — have ten legs.

And then there’s the caterpillar. Here’s a little info I found:

“The caterpillars of some tiny leaf-mining moths may have no legs at all. Most caterpillars of the larger moths and butterflies have 3 pairs of true legs, and most have 5 pairs of prolegs on their abdomen. So the best answer would be that most often they have 16 legs.”

So it turns out that Flo must be at least some sort of distant cousin to the caterpillar. I’m willing to bet you would never have guessed that!

She was fun to draw, and I hope she brings a smile to your face.