Friday, May 4, 2012

Hoverfly Eat with Forked Tongue ....


When I looked closely at this photo of the hoverfly Rhingia campestris feeding on a primrose I noticed that ....


..... when it withdrew its tongue the tip of the proboscis sometimes split into two, and then closed up again. I've noticed this before in nectar-feeding insects like bee-flies and suspect that it may be the insect's way of clearing blockages that occur in the capillary tube formed by the proboscis.

2 comments:

  1. You discover the most interesting things!

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  2. Hi toffeeapple, It's wonderful how digital photography reveals things that you would never notice when you take the picture.

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