Polarised light micrograph of the mouthparts, or proboscis, of a blowfly (Calliphora vomitoria). The blowfly exudes digestive enzymes on to the surfac

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Polarised light micrograph of the mouthparts, or proboscis, of a blowfly (Calliphora vomitoria). The blowfly exudes digestive enzymes on to the surface of its food (hence the name vomitoria) and partial digestion takes place before the resulting fluid is sucked up through the terminal pads on the mouthparts which are called the labella. This feeding habit leads to contamination of food and spread of infection. Magnification: x27 at 10cm wide.

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Size: 2832px × 3761px
Photo credit: © STEVE LOWRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: anatomical, anatomy, animal, biological, biology, blowfly, calliphora, digestion, fauna, feeding, insect, labella, light, micrograph, microscope, microscopic, microscopy, mouth, mouthparts, nature, polarised, polarized, proboscis, vomitoria, zoological, zoology