No Teeth Needed. Episyrphus balteatus, Marmalade Hoverfly, on Cat's Tail, Hebenstretia dentata, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Hortus now in late Autumn hasn't many flowering plants, but among these is this Cat's Tail. That common English name is applied specifically to Hebenstretia dura, but is suited, too, for our 'dentata', toothed, Hebenstretia. For a detailed photo of a single flower: www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/42882117720/in/photoli....
When a bit of sunlight warmed the flowers up yesterday, our Hebenstretia was soon visited by lots of Hoverflies still out in the chilly weather. Marmalade Hoverfly is one of my favorites. It goes by quite a few common names among them in Dutch the 'snor' (mustache) and the 'pyjama' Hoverfly. The 'mustaches' are evident from the beastie's markings; and the 'pyjama' reminds me of my own PJs as a young boy except that they were blue. The Latin 'balteatus', of course, means something like 'belted', and that's good descriptively as well. And its color is truly that of marmalade.
It was once thought that Hoverflies have very strong jaws able to grind down those hard pollen grains into suitable proteins. Since then it has been found that their process of digestion doesn't include grinding. Rather, Hoverfly produces enzymes which seep into the pollen grains through their pores. They dissolve what foodstuffs are needed which are then drawn out. The now empty shells are then evacuated. So no teeth or molars are required. Just an intricate biochemical process.
No Teeth Needed. Episyrphus balteatus, Marmalade Hoverfly, on Cat's Tail, Hebenstretia dentata, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Hortus now in late Autumn hasn't many flowering plants, but among these is this Cat's Tail. That common English name is applied specifically to Hebenstretia dura, but is suited, too, for our 'dentata', toothed, Hebenstretia. For a detailed photo of a single flower: www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/42882117720/in/photoli....
When a bit of sunlight warmed the flowers up yesterday, our Hebenstretia was soon visited by lots of Hoverflies still out in the chilly weather. Marmalade Hoverfly is one of my favorites. It goes by quite a few common names among them in Dutch the 'snor' (mustache) and the 'pyjama' Hoverfly. The 'mustaches' are evident from the beastie's markings; and the 'pyjama' reminds me of my own PJs as a young boy except that they were blue. The Latin 'balteatus', of course, means something like 'belted', and that's good descriptively as well. And its color is truly that of marmalade.
It was once thought that Hoverflies have very strong jaws able to grind down those hard pollen grains into suitable proteins. Since then it has been found that their process of digestion doesn't include grinding. Rather, Hoverfly produces enzymes which seep into the pollen grains through their pores. They dissolve what foodstuffs are needed which are then drawn out. The now empty shells are then evacuated. So no teeth or molars are required. Just an intricate biochemical process.