leaf-mimic katydid
The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
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These are from 1.5 months ago but I figure I should milk my expensive vacation in Brazil for all its worth.
One of the coolest things to do in the rainforest (or the desert or ….?) is to go for a walk at night. A very slow walk with a good light. Looking carefully at the vegetation, on the trunks of trees, into holes or crevices. The forest is full of small creatures that come out at night. You may not see a jaguar but you will see a bunch of other predators.
Above the orange opening amidst the leaves and branches is one of the more common larger arthropods around the Rio Cristalino lodge. It is an amplypigid, an animal with one of the most lopsided 'appearance of being extremely dangerous':'actual danger posed' ratios out there. As you can see they have a rather terrifying set of mouthparts which are used for grabbing small animals as prey. However they are not in the least venomous or aggressive toward large things like ourselves. The traditional common name is the rather awkward 'tail-less whipscorpion' which in addition to being awkward is somewhat misleading as they are not really very scorpion-like. A genuine scorpion is below. They are now often called whip-spiders which is a better more descriptive. They are often seen on the trunks of trees, particularly trees with buttresses, remaining very still until a prey item wanders too close.
actual scorpion
This rhinoceros beetle is a bit of a cheat because it wasn't actually in the forest but on the sidewalk right next to the lodge. However it was big and impressive so I'll stick it in.
Following are some less exciting in appearance but still interesting organisms.
treehopper (family Membracidae) These insects are often elaborate mimic of thorns or twigs. Some of them are quite social and care for their offspring.
leaf-footed bug (family Coreidae) This one doesn't have very big 'leaves', the enlargements of parts of the hind legs which may be involved in mate competition.
I don't know what kinds of ants these are. I think this plant is in the genus Inga as it looks very similar to Inga I saw in Ecuador. The plant has tiny nectaries on the stems which are used to feed the ants. In return the ants keep other animals off the plant.
I'm not sure if this ant and her nestmates were merely fleeing the disruption of their nest, carrying brood, or if they were slave-making ants that had made a raid on another colony.
Here's your token vertebrate. Bit of a fluke picture.
Night Monkey, Aotus species
And now for the grand finale. If, like me, you read Edgar Rice Burroughs as child you were exposed to a vision of the jungle as a place filled with dangerous animals at every turn. Well here is an animal that is at least potentially dangerous.
Phoneutria species probably.
Above is (I think, there are other similar genera, but it looks just like them) a wandering spider, a member of the genus Phoneutria. Why the genus is named after Vietnamese soup and mis-spelled invasive rodents I don't know. Information about this genus is a bit inconsistent, both as to taxonomy and as to the danger posed by the different species. At least some of the species are dangerously venomous, described by some sources as the most dangerous spiders in the world. So there is a reasonable chance that the above spider is dangerous. It is an unusual case in which a large impressive looking spider is actually dangerously venomous.
Below we see the savage beast in 'action'. With venom dripping from its fangs to fall hissing as it strikes to the leaf surface and lust for death gleaming in all of its numerous fierce, beady eyes, the demonic spider prepares to pounce with dreadful power onto its hapless prey, a trembling leaf hopper.
Actually this was pretty cool to see. The spider did lunge very suddenly at the hopper which did kind of scare those in the group who were looking at it. I was looking at something else. The hopper got away.
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