Science Art: La Mouche des cerises (Rhagoletis cerasi), d’après une ancienne encyclopédie suédoise, 1920

Scientific illustration of a European cherry fruit fly.
Scientific illustration of a European cherry fruit fly.

This is a European cherry fruit fly, one of those creatures whose names say exactly what they are: a fruit fly that lives on cherries in Europe. The image came from the 1920 edition of Nordisk Familjebok, a long-running Swedish encyclopedia. This edition is also called the “Uggleupplagan,” which to an English speaker almost seems like made-up Swedish, but apparently means “Owl Edition,” because of the handsome illustrations of an owl on the binding and title page. The flies are pretty handsome, too, I think.