dimanche 13 juillet 2014

A nice mimetic animal: a fly disguised as a wasp

The marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) mimics a wasp but it's harmless and even useful.


In the larval stage they eat harmful aphids and in the adult stage they harvest flower nectar and help pollination. 
Hoverflies are easy to distinguish from wasps because flies have very short antennas (see first photo of the series) and achieve stationary flight and sudden direction changes.

Wasps on the contrary have long antennas, don't practice stationary flight and can't suddenly change flight directions.
All photos taken near Barbizon, in Fobtainebleau forrest.



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