Gold. Rosewood Tree, Tipuana tipu, a Hoverfly, Allograpta piurana/obliqua (?), and a Toad at Huaca Pucllana, Miraflores, Lima, Peru
In his lengthy description of Tipuana in 1853 (under the name of Machaerium tipu), versatile George Bentham (1800-1884) writes that this tree is called the Tipú of Peru by the people of the Paraná Valley. And he adds - I don't know why - that this valley has the best gold in the entire area. Whatever the case, the flower of our tree sure is golden.
But it's no doubt the pollen or nectar not the gold that attracts this beautiful Hoverfly. I'm not 'up' on Peruvian insects and am at a loss. Anyone out there? Thanks. PS: Many thanks to Alan Thornhill, see below, for his tentative identification: Allograpta piurana.
I saw this tree on the perimeter of the astounding Huaca Pucllana, an enormous adobe and clay platform, once a city of the Lima and the Wari Cultures (200-1000 CE), now in central Miraflores, Lima. It's being excavated since the 1980s.
The right inset has a dessicated Toad - a kind of cousin of this writer, Rana Pipiens. It seems that Toads had a special place in Lima Culture; this is a dry area and they signified 'rain'. Apparently - explained our guide -Toads were caught and put into a cage of some sort until they croaked; that sound was thought to call up rain. Of course, in the aftermath of this rite Toad 'croaked' as well. This one dates from those times.
'Ah!' you exclaim, 'But what about that Rosewood?' Well, for that there's also an explanation. The sap of this tree bleeds rose-colored.
Gold. Rosewood Tree, Tipuana tipu, a Hoverfly, Allograpta piurana/obliqua (?), and a Toad at Huaca Pucllana, Miraflores, Lima, Peru
In his lengthy description of Tipuana in 1853 (under the name of Machaerium tipu), versatile George Bentham (1800-1884) writes that this tree is called the Tipú of Peru by the people of the Paraná Valley. And he adds - I don't know why - that this valley has the best gold in the entire area. Whatever the case, the flower of our tree sure is golden.
But it's no doubt the pollen or nectar not the gold that attracts this beautiful Hoverfly. I'm not 'up' on Peruvian insects and am at a loss. Anyone out there? Thanks. PS: Many thanks to Alan Thornhill, see below, for his tentative identification: Allograpta piurana.
I saw this tree on the perimeter of the astounding Huaca Pucllana, an enormous adobe and clay platform, once a city of the Lima and the Wari Cultures (200-1000 CE), now in central Miraflores, Lima. It's being excavated since the 1980s.
The right inset has a dessicated Toad - a kind of cousin of this writer, Rana Pipiens. It seems that Toads had a special place in Lima Culture; this is a dry area and they signified 'rain'. Apparently - explained our guide -Toads were caught and put into a cage of some sort until they croaked; that sound was thought to call up rain. Of course, in the aftermath of this rite Toad 'croaked' as well. This one dates from those times.
'Ah!' you exclaim, 'But what about that Rosewood?' Well, for that there's also an explanation. The sap of this tree bleeds rose-colored.