Hoverfly and Lupine
A small window into the universe, the two organisms portrayed serve to tell so many stories in biology, stories about themselves, each other, and stories about so many others entwined. The small fly, a hoverfly, is a mimic. While harmless, its colors fool would-be predators into assuming this insect has a nasty sting. The fly pollinates the lupine, serving as a sexual liaison between flowers, ensuring that future lupine seeds will carry a wealth of shuffled genes. The lupine's continual survival is critical to a community of lupine-dependent species, including the endangered Karner Blue butterfly, the caterpillars of which depend upon the leaves of the lupine as a host plant. Interdependence. It is all connected. It is all valuable.
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