<div>Thanks Jean-Pierre,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I also answered something similar to him: "my guess is that is an artifact. When the fly opens the mouth, some muscle behind the integument moves and creates a dark spot in the inner side of the face... and that movement creates the vision of a hole".</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I just wante to know if I was right thinking it is an artifact of the pictures, or somebody has seen something similar.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Best regards,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Ximo</div>
<div><br><br><br><br> </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">2011/5/12 Jean-Pierre SARTHOU <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:sarthou@ensat.fr">sarthou@ensat.fr</a>></span><br>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex" class="gmail_quote">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">Dear Ximo,<br><br>According to me, there is nothing so odd: this "hole" is simply caused by the wet and dark proboscis, when pulled up into to buccal cavity, it (or more precisely the membrane which links it to the head tegument) touches the face tegument (which is more or less transluscent) inside and leads to this dark patch on the knob. <br>
I hope that it is nothing more complicated than that!<br><br>Best regards,<br>Jean-Pierre<br><br><br>Le 12/05/2011 03:37, ximo mengual sanchis a écrit :
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>
<div></div>
<div class="h5">Dear friends,<br><br>I'm not a big fan of these things but this forum has an interesting gif image (animated picture). My friend Keith sent me the link of a flower fly (Epistrophe eligans) with a weird "visual efect". There appears to be a mobile hole in the fly's face that opens when it moves its proboscis, the gif is mesmerizing and a little grotesque. What do you think caused this?<br>
<div class="gmail_quote"> <br><a href="http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1005789" target="_blank">http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1005789</a><br><br><br>Best regards,<br><br>Ximo<br><br></div><br clear="all">
<br>-- <br>******************************************************** <br>Dr. Ximo Mengual <br>Department of Entomology<br>Smithsonian Institution<br>PO Box 37012, MRC-0169<br>Rm CE-607<br>Washington, D.C. 20013-7012<br>Phone: +1 (202) 633-1004<br>
e-mail: <a href="mailto:mengualj@si.edu" target="_blank">mengualj@si.edu</a><br><a href="http://entomology.si.edu/StaffPages/MengualJ.html" target="_blank">http://entomology.si.edu/StaffPages/MengualJ.html</a><br> <br>For FEDEX:<br>
Smithsonian Institution<br>National Museum of Natural History (NHB)<br>Department of Entomology<br>10th & Constitution NW<br>Phone: +1 (202) 633-1004<br>Washington, DC 20560-0169 <br><br></div></div>
<p>This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. </p>
<p>This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system: you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation. </p>
<pre><fieldset></fieldset>
_______________________________________________
Syrphidae mailing list
<a href="mailto:Syrphidae@lists.nottingham.ac.uk" target="_blank">Syrphidae@lists.nottingham.ac.uk</a>
<a href="http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae" target="_blank">http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae</a>
This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham.
This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment
may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system:
you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the
University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation.
</pre></blockquote><br><br>
<div>-- <br>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="597">
<tbody></tbody></table>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="597">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="center" width="150" align="middle"><a href="http://www.ensat.fr/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="" src="cid:part1.04090401.07020202@ensat.fr" width="130" height="23"></a></td>
<td valign="bottom">
<div style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 11px"><font color="#666666"><b>Jean-Pierre SARTHOU</b><br>Agroécologie - Entomologie<br>Tél : +33 (0)5 34 32 39 26<br>Fax : +33 (0)5 34 32 39 01<br></font></div></td></tr></tbody></table>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="597">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 9px"><font color="#666666"><img alt="" src="cid:part2.06060902.04030703@ensat.fr" width="597" height="58"></font></div></td></tr></tbody></table>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="597">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 9px"><font color="#666666">INP-ENSAT<br>Avenue de l'Agrobiopole<br>BP 32607<br>31326 Castanet-Tolosan Cedex<br><a href="http://www.ensat.fr/" target="_blank">http://www.ensat.fr</a><br>
</font></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>Syrphidae mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Syrphidae@lists.nottingham.ac.uk">Syrphidae@lists.nottingham.ac.uk</a><br>
<a href="http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae" target="_blank">http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/syrphidae</a><br><br>This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham.<br>
<br>This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment<br>may still contain software viruses which could damage your computer system:<br>you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the<br>
University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation.<br><br><br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>******************************************************** <br>Dr. Ximo Mengual <br>Department of Entomology<br>
Smithsonian Institution<br>PO Box 37012, MRC-0169<br>Rm CE-607<br>Washington, D.C. 20013-7012<br>Phone: +1 (202) 633-1004<br>e-mail: <a href="mailto:mengualj@si.edu">mengualj@si.edu</a><br><a href="http://entomology.si.edu/StaffPages/MengualJ.html">http://entomology.si.edu/StaffPages/MengualJ.html</a><br>
<br>For FEDEX:<br>Smithsonian Institution<br>National Museum of Natural History (NHB)<br>Department of Entomology<br>10th & Constitution NW<br>Phone: +1 (202) 633-1004<br>Washington, DC 20560-0169 <br>