Side Effects. Wasp on Red Bistort and a Grove Snail, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Polygonum amplexicaule, Red Bistort, - of which I've posted several photos these last few days - drew me once again, and this is what Olymp recorded.
Wasps are out foraging for nectar on Red Bistort, one of few flowers still braving Autumn Chills; in fact, if it's a bright enough day they'll forage still at 2 or 3 degrees C. They desperately need that sweetness for sustenance; their nests are empty of transformed larvae which exuded sugars for their parents. So here they are in the Red Oudoors fending for themselves. They now don't need those formidable mandibles (see inset lower left) so useful for cutting up insects for their larvae; it's their proboscis that draws up Flower's nectar with the help of capillary action.
Red Bistort has already been pollinated mostly by other insects - Bees and Hoverflies and such. You can see the resulting side-effect of their work, those chestnut-brown seeds in the left top inset.
And Lo and Behold! Olymp also caught himself a Grove Snail. 'Look Master!' he cried, 'I won't eat it but you can show it to your friends!' So here you are, Oh! Flickerites.
Side Effects. Wasp on Red Bistort and a Grove Snail, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Polygonum amplexicaule, Red Bistort, - of which I've posted several photos these last few days - drew me once again, and this is what Olymp recorded.
Wasps are out foraging for nectar on Red Bistort, one of few flowers still braving Autumn Chills; in fact, if it's a bright enough day they'll forage still at 2 or 3 degrees C. They desperately need that sweetness for sustenance; their nests are empty of transformed larvae which exuded sugars for their parents. So here they are in the Red Oudoors fending for themselves. They now don't need those formidable mandibles (see inset lower left) so useful for cutting up insects for their larvae; it's their proboscis that draws up Flower's nectar with the help of capillary action.
Red Bistort has already been pollinated mostly by other insects - Bees and Hoverflies and such. You can see the resulting side-effect of their work, those chestnut-brown seeds in the left top inset.
And Lo and Behold! Olymp also caught himself a Grove Snail. 'Look Master!' he cried, 'I won't eat it but you can show it to your friends!' So here you are, Oh! Flickerites.