The chayote (Sechium edule) is a great species of Cucurbitaceae, because almost all parts of the plant are edible. Besides the fruit, a lot of nations consume the root, the seeds, the stem, and the heart-shaped leaves. The chayote was unknown to me until it crawled over a three-meter-tall, stone wall from the neighbour. Thence, I have been observing its growth: from the first tendril to the bizarre-looking fruit.
One morning in the garden, I noticed that the chayote’s flowers draw a lot of marmalade hoverflies (Episyrphus balteatus), and they spent more than a minute on one flower when they were not disturbed. However, the Episyrphus balteatus was not alone: they competed with honey bees (Apis mellifera) for flower resources. Additionally, it seemed like, hoverflies could not land when ants were roaming on the petals. Honey bees were in lower abundances than marmalade hoverflies, but even the buzzing sound of the bees disturbed the flies.
Check out the video linked to this post in 4K below.
