National Geographic: Rain Forest Page #4

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these strands mesh together to

from the living fabric of the nest.

Within the nest,

strands of workers interlock

to create chambers for

the queen and brood.

At night, the forest teems

with a different life.

It's now that most of

the leaf-eating insects emerge.

To survive the ravages of insects,

most plants have evolved toxic

compounds that protect their leaves.

But insects in turn have developed

immunity to the chemicals.

So together they have evolved,

insect and plant,

until now most insects have become

such specialized feeders

that they can only eat the leaves

of one particular plant,

or only one family of plants.

This harlequin beetle spends

most of its life

as a larva concealed

within dead wood.

But now as an adult,

it emerges to find a mate.

The beetle is host to

a resident colony of mites

that finds refuge in the creases

and folds of its back.

Also riding on the beetle

are pseudoscorpions that prey

on the mites.

help in the powerful job

the creases is no chance

in the Chigao seem see

A stick spider suspends itself

head down

above a leaf on which its prey

might walk.

Its web is held by the tips

of its four front legs.

Green leaf-frogs gather near

a forest pool to mate.

The males wait near the water

to intercept the females

as they arrive.

Clasping the much larger female,

the male will stay with her now

until she has laid her eggs.

She selects a leaf directly

above the water,

and as she lays her eggs,

the male fertilizes them.

The cat-eyed snake isn't

interested in the frogs.

He is after their eggs.

And as egg-laying has been going

on for several days,

he will easily find others.

Many snakes are attracted

to the pool

when the leaf-frogs are laying.

They eat almost all the eggs.

Glass frogs also lay their eggs

above water,

in this case a stream,

and the male remains

close to the eggs

until they're ready to hatch.

His presence probably deters flies

and other insects

that would harm them.

On a rainy night about two weeks

after the eggs are laid,

the vigil of the male ends

when the emerging tadpoles drop

into the stream below.

But the frogs do not always manage

to lay their eggs directly

above the water.

However, the tadpoles are specially

equipped with reflexes

that help them cope

with this situation.

The first rays of sun

warm the forest

and a mist rises up

the great mountain mass

that divides Costa Rica,

separating the forests of

the Atlantic coast

from those of the Pacific.

High in these mountains,

the forest receives moisture

from direct contact with the clouds,

and the vegetation changes

imperceptibly.

Many of the creatures found here

can live only at these

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