A panoramic view around the Cocha Cashu biological station in Manu National park reveals the eponymous oxbow lake, as well as the snaking Manu river. Rain on the horizon underlines the turbidity of the water within the river as compared to the lake. The lake itself once formed part of the Manu river, until a greater and greater curvature of the river due to soil deposition resulted in the river overflowing its regular watercourse and forging a newer, straighter path of less resistance:
The smooth cup fungus (Cookeina sulcipes) is a common site in the rainforest understory, typically seen more on decomposing hardwood fragments:
The sheer number of army ants in a colony is sufficient to overwhelm most prey. Defences suitable to a single predator generally fail under the onslaught of an army. Here, the defensive foam shield produced by a spittle bug (Cercopidae) is being removed bubble by bubble by the ants, faster than it can be produced by the beleaguered prey:
A brood of newly hatched stink bugs (Pentatomidae) adopts a defensive ring posture to limit exposure to potential predators. These insects often remain in groups for days to weeks, their collective defence essential until their own, individual chemical defences are sufficiently developed to maintain their independence:
An owlfly larva (Ascalaphidae) which possesses small processes and a rough texture provides a good substrate for the accumulation of bits of soil, upon which mosses have grown. This type of relationship is termed epizootic ("on" + "Animal"). This type of relationship is relatively common within the oceans, however is rare in terrestrial animal relationships. In my experience it typically involves animals that remain stationary for prolonged periods of time, whether it be defensive or predaceous. Without the help of the cricket prey, it would have been indistinguishable from its surroundings:
A male whip spider (Amblypygidae) holds a spermatophore in its raptorial palps. The ungainly bodies of the whip spiders provides an interesting hurdle to reproduction. After a kind of dancing courtship, wherein the male and female sway back and forth in lock-step, an embrace of raptorial pedipalps. There is no "active" or penetrative reproduction by the male, rather the female is gently guided onto the spermatophore by the male:
The Bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) with one of the most painful stings of any insect generally hunts individually as seen here with an ant (Pachycondyla). However, larger prey sometimes succumb to a group of ants, usually when closer to the nest:
A moulting cicada (Zamarra sp.) inflates its shrivelled wings with air pumped from its abdomen. As they gradually unfurl, the cicada then hangs motionless and vulnerable as its wings dry and harden:
Thanks for looking and commenting,
Paul
