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This caterpillar obviously doesn't have to worry about
being eaten! |
These caterpillars are quite hairy - these hairs don't
sting, but because many hairy caterpillars have stinging hairs, birds leave
these guys alone! |
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The millipede gets around - he may be found on the forest
floor, but also climbs the trees. |
All these little black specks are ants! This is a swarm
of army ants sweeping across the forest floor. Contrary to popular belief,
these are not dangerous. They mostly eat other bugs and insects which are dead
or cannot get out of the way in time. They are efficient recyclers and
scavengers! |
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In fact, many "antbirds", such as this barred antshrike,
seen sitting on its nest, follow the swarm of army ants to swoop down and catch
- and eat - any insects which jump up to get out of the way of the
swarm. |
Leafcutter ants make their way through their cleared
trails to bring their prize (often many times bigger than they) back to their
nest - which may be 20 feet across! But leafcutter ants do not eat the leaves
they bring back! |
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This is the edge of a very large nest in Costa Rica. In
tunnels underneath they make a huge mound of chewed leaves, upon which grows a
special fungus - which grows no where else in the world! The ants harvest and
eat this fungus. |
In this mutual relationship of dependency, or symbiosis,
when a new queen leaves the nest to start her own colony, she must take a
culture of the fungus with her. If it dies, the new colony dies as
well. |
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Leafcutter story: One night we were exploring a trail in
Monteverde, Costa Rica. We stopped to listen for bird or animal sounds. There
was a faint smell of flower blossoms in the night. One of our group turned on
their flashlight - "Look at that" he exclaimed - there, making their way across
the trail, was a never-ending column of leaf-cutter ants. But they were not
carrying the usual pieces of leaves - they were carrying tiny white blossoms! I
have not read of this behavior - perhaps they were gathering nectar to eat or
to feed to their "farmed" fungus. It was something I will never forget.
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