Chayote and hoverflies

The chayote and the hoverflies

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, …

Fig harvest

Fig harvest

One day in late summer, we were picking the matured figs at the back of our garden and our harvest was accompanied by louder-than-usual buzzing sounds. Around the overripe figs flew a lot of insects and landed on these already opened fruits: honey bees (Apis mellifera) and some fly species, such as the locust blowfly …