The Rainforest Understory (3)

Bats on my ceiling, Tortuguerro N.P., Costa Rica.

And many bats live in the understory! Different bats eat insects, fruit, pollen, blood, and even fish! These white-lined sac-wing bats spent the day on my ceiling in Costa Rica.

These bats are spending the day sleeping uinder a palm leaf, at Tortuguerro N.P., Costa Rica.

We saw palm leaves cut and bent like this throughout the understory in the forests of Belize. Why were they like this? They were chewed and bent!

This is a "bat-tent", probably made by the white-lined fruit bat or the ghost bat. Many bats also make tents out of wide banana or heliconia leaves. This way they can roost in a different location each day to avoid predators.

You may wonder why you are looking at a picture of bird droppings.....

In this very interesting adaptation, these caterpillars, like several species in North America, look just like bird droppings. What better way to avoid being eaten by a bird? No self-respecting bird would eat bird doodoo!

This acacia tree trying to grow up through the understory needs a competitive advantage. To get one it produces little yellow "protein buds" on the tips of its leaves and has small openings in the hollow thorns.

How would this help this plant?

The protein buds provide food for a certain specie of ant, and the thorns provide shelter.

The ants, which you can see on the right side of this photo, don't need to ever leave the tree. In return, they protect the tree from being eaten by animals large or small, and even kill vines attempting to grow up the tree. About 40 species of trees in the rainforest have developed such symbiotic relationship with ants!

At night, under the leaves of the understory, you may find frogs singing their hearts out to attract a mate!

Click here to hear frogs at night in the Amazon (RealAudio required).

Another pollinator, of course, is the bee! These are tube bees, tiny little non-stinging bees found in small opennings in trees. This hole is about the size of a dime!

Tube bee, or not tube bee? That is the question!

Watch out for the snake! Snakes may be anywhere in the understory shrubs or trees.

But this is just one of the many vines making its way up through the understory.

This time it's a real snake! This vinesnake sits patiently waiting for dinner to come to it.... It took me a few minutes to see this snake, even though it was six inches in front of my face!

The Rainforest Understory (3)

And many bats live in the understory! Different bats eat insects, fruit, pollen, blood, and even fish! These white-lined sac-wing bats spent the day on my ceiling in Costa Rica.

These bats are spending the day sleeping uinder a palm leaf, at Tortuguerro N.P., Costa Rica.

We saw palm leaves cut and bent like this throughout the understory in the forests of Belize. Why were they like this? They were chewed and bent!

This is a "bat-tent", probably made by the white-lined fruit bat or the ghost bat. Many bats also make tents out of wide banana or heliconia leaves. This way they can roost in a different location each day to avoid predators.

You may wonder why you are looking at a picture of bird droppings.....

In this very interesting adaptation, these caterpillars, like several species in North America, look just like bird droppings. What better way to avoid being eaten by a bird? No self-respecting bird would eat bird doodoo!

This acacia tree trying to grow up through the understory needs a competitive advantage. To get one it produces little yellow "protein buds" on the tips of its leaves and has small openings in the hollow thorns.

How would this help this plant?

The protein buds provide food for a certain specie of ant, and the thorns provide shelter.

At night, under the leaves of the understory, you may find frogs singing their hearts out to attract a mate!

Click here to hear frogs at night in the Amazon (RealAudio required).

Another pollinator, of course, is the bee! These are tube bees, tiny little non-stinging bees found in small opennings in trees. This hole is about the size of a dime!

Tube bee, or not tube bee? That is the question!

Watch out for the snake! Snakes may be anywhere in the understory shrubs or trees.

But this is just one of the many vines making its way up through the understory.

This time it's a real snake! This vinesnake sits patiently waiting for dinner to come to it.... It took me a few minutes to see this snake, even though it was six inches in front of my face!

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