National Geographic: Rain Forest Page #3
- Year:
- 1983
- 199 Views
into the cool shade
within the canopy.
A "lie-in-wait" lizard remains
perfectly motionless.
It's a strategy that serves it well:
by keeping still,
the lizard is overlooked
by both predator and prey.
And an unsuspecting victim
can be pounced on from above.
Rain forests seldom get less than
Some even exceed 400 inches.
And so, most of the leaves
in the humid understory
of the forest are specially
adapted to drain water
as possible.
the leaves may rot or become host
to tiny plants that may do damage.
These drip tips ensure that
the leaves will dry quickly.
absorb rain as it falls.
But when the rains are
particularly heavy,
and the water runs off to flood
the surrounding rivers
flushing fallen trees
and debris out to sea.
A tide line of rotting vegetation
is left on the beach,
and a shy agouti forages
among it for fruits.
their nest.
Constructed of wood pulp,
it would soon soak up the rain
if the wasps didn't drink the water
and spit it over the edge.
The adults take so much care
and trouble,
because in each of the cells is
a developing wasp,
and their entire brood could be
destroyed by a heavy downpour.
As each larva grows,
of pulp and saliva
to the outside rim.
And when the nest begins to warm
in the sun,
they cool their brood
by rapidly vibrating
their wings to create a current
of air.
The eggs of a poison-arrow frog
have hatched,
and the female carries two tiny
tadpoles on her back.
While they are developing into
frogs,
they have to be in water.
She takes them up a tree to a site
she has chosen in
a bromeliad plant.
She will deposit them in rainwater
held in the bromeliad.
She makes her way down a leaf
to a small pool at its base.
And here, she submerges her tadpoles
and leave her back.
The tadpoles will complete their
development in this tiny pool.
In six to eight,
weeks they'll emerge as frogs
and return to the forest floor.
Army ants are on the move.
They build no permanent nests and
constantly comb the forest
for their prey.
on the larvae of social insects
and here they attack a nest
of paper wasps.
there is nothing the wasps can do.
to the voracious horde,
which will soon strip the nest
of all life.
They take their plunder
to a bivouac
on the underside of a fallen log.
Here, by linking special hooks
at the ends of their legs,
they form long, hanging chains.
Through sheer numbers,
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