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Sloth
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | December 11th 2009 by luccaa77
Last Saturday I received a busload of passengers from a cruise ship moored in Alter do Chão, some 33 kilometers from Santarém. As the bus came to a halt at the entrance to the Bosque, I heard the sounds of a guide speaking over a load speaker syst read more
Young parrot, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | December 9th 2009 by luccaa77
Here's another look at our young friend. She standing on a barbecue pit next to the back porch of the Bosque reception center. She later climbed down and then up a relatively high hibiscus plant. At some point I looked over in that direction to se read more
Young parrot
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | December 9th 2009 by luccaa77
One of our neighbor's kids brought his new pet over for me to see yesterday, a young parrot. At first I thought it might be a festive parrot, but now I have my doubts. I'll have to do some research. Interesting that the kid's nickname is "Pagagaio read more
Brazil nuts, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | December 6th 2009 by luccaa77
A closer view of Carlos opening a Brazil nut. That's the pod next to his shoe. read more
Brazil nuts
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | December 6th 2009 by luccaa77
That's Paulinho, one of the local guides assigned to the cruise ship, showing off Brazil nuts. Down below in the red shirt with a machete is Carlos, one of our woodsmen. Hew doesn't talk much, but it's not an easy job opening those pods. read more
Visitors
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | December 6th 2009 by luccaa77
Visitors from a cruise ship following their guide over to my "getaway house" to see some young tarantulas which have made their home behind a painting. read more
Flies
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | December 6th 2009 by luccaa77
Robber flies, I would assume. read more
MARICARMEN MORALES-MACEDO
Splendor: A Celebration of Jewelry Designers | December 2nd 2009 by Carlotta
One of the most astounding natural wonders is Peru's Amazon River. It is a literal wall of water pouring 20% of the total volume of freshwater into the world's oceans. Peru is also the home of featured jewelry designer Maricarmen Morales-Macedo.From read more
Frog on painting
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 30th 2009 by luccaa77
On this past Saturday, I turned an oil painting over to see how my spider farm was coming along. Not to my surprise, there was more than spiders. There was this little frog, plus a large gecko, which quickly disappeared. There was only time to get read more
Iguanas, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 27th 2009 by luccaa77
And here's an older iguana munching on a ripe mango fruit. When not down on the ground after fallen fruit, they stay up in the mango trees. They're fun seeing as they climb up into the trees. read more
Iguana
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 26th 2009 by luccaa77
The choice of a parking lot for waiting for my wife at the Maternidade Hospital in Santarem is in the back lot, where some old mango trees provide some shade from the very hot sun. The trees also provide food for families of iguanas living there. L read more
Gemstones A-Z: Amazonite
K.L. Dezines | November 26th 2009 by kenya
In an earlier post, I told you all about gemstone mines, and one of the gems I wrote about was the Amazonite stone which I find absolutely beautiful. Amozonite is a stone that is aqua-blue and with cream inclusions. It is called the “stone of read more
Thorn on orange tree
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 25th 2009 by luccaa77
Grafted orange trees just can't compete with the beauty of the old stock. read more
Unidentified
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 23rd 2009 by luccaa77
When I first posted the image of these flowers, I identified them as the genus Senna. I had mistakenly confused them with other yellow flowers in the immediate area, which had been identified by Mary at A Neotropical Savanna as Senna. Sorry for the read more
Passion fruit leaf
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 22nd 2009 by luccaa77
One thing I've learned about passion fruit plants is that they need a lot of sunlight. I've planted the vines in places where I fantasized they would attract a lot of attention from visitors, but they never made it. They do like sun! The one in th read more
Passion fruit tendrils
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 22nd 2009 by luccaa77
An image of the passion fruit vine attaching itself to the wire that Cleuson strung up to support it. Those tendrils are something else. They run ahead of the plant itself, attaching themselves to whatever they encounter. By the time those large l read more
Jacaranda copaia
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 22nd 2009 by luccaa77
The purple flowers of Jacaranda copaia fell from sky to decorate the environment below. The tree puts on quite a show with an explosion of purple and it's said that the dry season is over when this happens. In reality, it's rained only once since t read more
Fuzzy plant
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 22nd 2009 by luccaa77
The new shoots on this small tree certainly get some attention, given they are so different than others around it. I haven't the slightest idea as to the species. That's biodiversity. Never an end to learning. read more
Summer fungi
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 20th 2009 by luccaa77
The nomenclature is mine. I don't think there is such a name, "summer fungi". It came to mind because we are at the end (I hope) of a long hot summer and these fungi give that impression. Reminds me of dried flowers. read more
Red-Bellied Piranhas Found in South Florida!
Peacock Bass Fishing in South Florida | November 17th 2009 by Mitch Bennett
Ok everyone. Here we go again. As if the Parrots, Frogs, Lizards, Iguanas, Pythons, Mayan Cichlids, Tilapia & a hundred or so other nonnative species were not enough we now have a new visitor in town. The news has just been released that in a per read more
Spiders, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 17th 2009 by luccaa77
Someone mentioned that these spiders might be aranha armadeira (Phoneutria reidyi), but I haven't found anything to prove it. Hairy as they are, I suspect that they are baby tarantulas. read more
Spiders, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 16th 2009 by luccaa77
Another look at the egg sack of Madame Spider. This picture was taken yesterday. I get the feeling that it's hardening up. A week ago it was much more like a fluff of cotton. read more
Domestic spiders
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 14th 2009 by luccaa77
No, I don't raise spiders out at Bosque Santa Lucia, but it appears that way. A few days ago I was moving some paintings around in my small wooden house, when to my surprise I discovered these spiders and their egg sack on the backside of a Marcio D read more
Guaraná fruit
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 10th 2009 by luccaa77
Fruit of guaraná (Paullina cupana), which is classified as a stimulant and aphrodisiac. The main ingredient is caffeine. Five times more than coffee! read more
Bloom
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 7th 2009 by luccaa77
I discovered this flower at the end of a small branch coming off a regenerated tree that had been cut for bringing in electrical wiring to the reception center. A very nondescript tree, had it not been for the bloom. read more
Vanilla flowers, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 5th 2009 by luccaa77
Another vanilla flower closes down with the reduced sunlight at the end of the day. read more
Vanilla flower, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 5th 2009 by luccaa77
A diffused view of a flower with buds in the background. read more
Vanilla flower
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 5th 2009 by luccaa77
Well, having paid tribute to the lone wasp building its nest, it was time to photograph flowers from the vanilla vine. View from the front, looking into the flower. read more
Paper wasp, continued
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 3rd 2009 by luccaa77
A better look at the nest. Isn't it a beauty? I'll be checking on it again to see if there are other individuals involved. read more
Paper wasp
Tropical Biodiversity - The Amazon | November 3rd 2009 by luccaa77
I was up high on a chair shooting pictures of a vanilla vine in bloom when I came face to face with this beautiful wasp. There were times when it stared at me, but it didn't seem too worried about having to pose for my camera. read more
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