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Termites
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 24th 2008 by luccaa77
Some well-polished termites are a bit upset with my intrusion into their home. Can't say I blame them. Sorry, but there are some folks who haven't seen your likes. read more
Spider on tree trunk
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 24th 2008 by luccaa77
The light-colored fungus on this tree provides a spotlight for a spider normally not anxious to be seen. read more
Seeds
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 24th 2008 by luccaa77
It could be the first year that this unidentified tree has produced seeds. As you can see from the attached image, they are really quite large, much like Lima beans. To be honest about it, I would never have expected to see this kind of a seed come read more
From caterpillar to ....
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 22nd 2008 by luccaa77
Alright, no more caterpillars for today, but I insist on posting images of a butterfly. Wish I knew what the caterpillar looked like. read more
Another caterpillar
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 22nd 2008 by luccaa77
I promise, this will be the last caterpillar for now. They are interesting creatures because of the variety. It's been estimated that we may see as many as 300 different species of butterflies over a period of a year at Bosque Santa Lucia. Obviou read more
Pink caterpillar, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 22nd 2008 by luccaa77
And here is a picture of our pink friend in a rolledup position, much like a centipede. Look at the hair on it. It's so fine, it could pass for dog hair. I suppose the acid test to determine whether or not it's a caterpillar would have been to cuddl read more
A pink caterpillar
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 22nd 2008 by luccaa77
Is it really a caterpillar? I asked myself this question because I've never seen a pink caterpillar. Secondly because the little creature rolled up like a centipede when I got close to it. Otherwise, it has all the characteristics of a future but read more
Save that caterpillar
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 21st 2008 by luccaa77
Just yesterday we made a stop at Bosque Santa Lúcia, mainly to satisfy the curiosity of local friends. I'm always a bit reluctant to take friends to my the Bosque because I never know how much they will appreciate the place, or not appreciate it. read more
Greek butterfly
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 20th 2008 by luccaa77
I gave this image the name of "Greek butterfly" because I was with an Greek biologist and her mother at the time we encountered it on the trail. The butterfly was very patient with all of us wanting photographs. Only after I got within an inch or t read more
Wasp on palm leaf
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 20th 2008 by luccaa77
On the other side of the reception center, I found other visitors on a licuelo leaf. I would never have seen them, but I was pruning off some old leaves on the palm. I'm surprised that I didn't get some stings for my efforts because I was right on read more
Katydid
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 20th 2008 by luccaa77
I had to look twice to confirm that I was looking at a katydid on palm frond. It's amazing how well the insect has come to mimic a leaf. That granulated material on the palm is probably pollen from one of the nearby trees. read more
Decorative bananas
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 19th 2008 by luccaa77
This musa plant is quite small. Less than two feet high and its fruit, the bananas, are tiny little things. No more than two inches long. I only have one of these plants, but I plan on saving the seeds for planting. Sort of odd that the banana, a read more
Helioconia, rostrata
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 19th 2008 by luccaa77
There are many different kinds of helioconias, but I think the rostrata is the most decorative of all. The flowers are being used more and more for parties and receptions in Santarém. As a matter of fact, they were part of the decor for a birthday read more
Morning glories
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 18th 2008 by luccaa77
And speaking of morning glories, there are plenty of them around, especially along the roads, where they get the morning sun they like so much. I took this picture yesterday right from my car window as I drove through private lands to avoid my favor read more
Yellow flowers
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 18th 2008 by luccaa77
More wild flowers without a name. The plant is a vine, so I wonder if they might not be morning glories? Probably not, but in any case, they put on a show. read more
Five-star fruit, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 18th 2008 by luccaa77
I've had this image of five-star fruit in the "bin" for some time. The perfect time to post it! read more
Five-star fruit
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 18th 2008 by luccaa77
Seems to be a lot of things blooming these days, including the caranbola trees (Averrhoa carambola), alias 5-star fruit. read more
Yellow ixora
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 17th 2008 by luccaa77
Here's the yellow variety of ixora, a cousin of the red one shown on the previous image. I took this picture this morning before the sun got too hot. We're also getting some dust from the road now with all the soybean trucks. Things were still fre read more
Red Ixora
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 16th 2008 by luccaa77
Red ixora is another plant that likes plenty of sun. I guess that's the reason it does so well in Santarém, where it's seen everywhere. There's also a yellow variety that's just as beautiful as this one. read more
Wild flowers
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 15th 2008 by luccaa77
I spotted an all yellow bumble bee visiting these flowers, but couldn't get it in focus. It would have been a beauty, for sure. I just didn't have time to wait, so it'll have to save it for another opportunity. These flowers are from a vine that m read more
Orchid and bees, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 15th 2008 by luccaa77
The orchid flowers without the visitors. The bumble bees shown on the previous image are easily scared away, compared to the mangangá bee, which will dive bomb me to get back to the perfume. I've never been stung by one but I'm told that they are read more
Orchid and bees
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 15th 2008 by luccaa77
I was not only surprised at the number of bees visiting this Catasetum orchid, but also by the kind of bee. This one is different than the big black bee (mangangá) on which I reported a few days ago. I would assume that these bees are also classif read more
Psygmorchis pusilla orchid, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 14th 2008 by luccaa77
A closer view of the same Psygmorchis pusilla. Some trees and shrubs around the Bosque full of these small orchids. read more
Psygmorchis pussilla orchid
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 14th 2008 by luccaa77
A Psygmorchis pusilla flower shows its color through the foliage of other plants at the entrance to Bosque Santa Lucia. read more
Mato Grosso soy, update
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 13th 2008 by luccaa77
Another view of the Mato Grosso mill, where there's a constant coming and going of trucks unloading soybeans that are being harvested in this region right now. The beans are planted at the beginning of the rainy season, normally in January and Febru read more
Mato Grosso soy, update
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 13th 2008 by luccaa77
Another image of the Mato Grosso soy/rice mill located in Cipoal on the BR-163 Highway. Per earlier posts, it's my understanding that Cargill has leased this facility because their large sills in Santarém are full to the brim. read more
Mato Grosso soy, update
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 13th 2008 by luccaa77
This image, plus the next two, were taken this morning as I headed down BR-163 to visit friends near Cipoal. We counted approximately 20 trucks waiting outside to get into the Mato Grosso Mill for unloading soybeans. read more
Soy, Mato Grosso
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 13th 2008 by luccaa77
From "Lake Maria" to Bosque Santa Lucia is about 2.5 kilometers. From the mud hole to Mato Grosso mill on BR-163, alias Santarém-Cuiabá Highway, it's less than 1 kilometer. As mentioned in the earlier posts, Mato Grosso has been primarily involve read more
Lake Maria takes its toll, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 12th 2008 by luccaa77
The owner of the insurance policy found a neat little bench on a trail off the road. Not only was it cooler than the open road, but she didn't have to hear my cursing as I tried unsuccessfully to get that flat tire off the car. read more
Lake Maria takes its toll, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | July 12th 2008 by luccaa77
Now I'll get to the point, why did we have to call a tow truck? After all, the only problem seemed to be a flat tire. The culprit in this story is that tire wrench you see in the image. We had a spare, but believe it or not, we couldn't get the fl read more
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