Peru Nature Blog

About six months ago, graduate student Troy Alexander took photos of this odd structure. What was it? The images went viral and neither the internet nor experts could figure it out.

The inside 'tower' and outer 'fence' of this Amazon mystery.

For image/story usage please contact: therevscience@gmail.com
Written by Phil Torres.

So we returned to the Tambopata Research Center six months later with a team lead by myself, Phil Torres, to solve it. Alongside were entomologists Lary Reeves and Geena Hill, both from the University of Florida entomology department and with strong field experience, and photographer Jeff Cremer, to document the structure with macrophotography.

The previous theories on how these structures were formed were vast: slime mold, spiders, fungus, lacewings, and some even thought it was a hoax. With just the pictures to go on and no other similar structure found in the literature, we approached this very open minded, but did suspect a cribellate spider for the reasons well outlined here.

For this expedition, the goal was to find more of these structures, find what's making them, and try and figure out a function for the odd 'fence' with a 'tower' in the center.

We weren't even sure we'd find more on the small fish pond island in which the first two were seen, but over a stretch of trail about 200m long we ended up finding upwards of 45 of them as the week went on. After isolating some of the structures and long hours of observations in the field, day and night, we've come up with the following conclusions:

It was created by a spider. Three of the structures hatched out these spiderlings.

We're still attempting to identify the spider. There are several things that make this unusual. For one, it is not common for spiders to lay eggs and abandon them, they typically place silken egg sacs in their own web to protect. More oddly, it appears that there was only a single egg per structure (see image below). This, as far as we can tell, would be the only known occurrence of a spider laying a single egg per egg sac.

We saw a few adult spiders around that were prime suspects, but never saw any making it, so the construction and culprit remain a mystery.

There were a lot of mites around. The mites we found on and in the structures threw us off the trail for a bit as were unsure of the potential for the few groups of silk-producing mites to create such a structure themselves. We were able to rule them out once the spiderlings hatched, however we noted several instances of mites being seemingly trapped inside or along the 'fence' of the structure, and other times crawling directly on the inner tower (below).

One 'tower' toppled, leaving an egg exposed. Mites like this were often seen in or on the structures.

One hypothesis is that the structure might be designed to trap mites, serving as an easy first meal for a hatching spider. There is also the possibility of the spiders putting some sort of chemical attractant on the egg case to bait the mites, as chemical lures have been documented several times with spiders.

Mites (the round, shiny objects) appear to be trapped within this structure.

In addition to potentially capturing mites, the 'fence' part of the structure may function as defense against ants. The silk could potentially ensnare ants, and the distance from the center may prevent ants from easily detecting a food source within.

The Tambopata Research Center

The spider appears to be habitat specific. We only found them in a particular area of successional forest habitat with high abundance of Cecropia and bamboo. This seems to fit the habitat of another single structure which was photographed in Ecuador. This information will allow us to survey other similar habitats to search for more.

The island where the spider was found can be seen in the lower left corner.

We're eager to hear from spider experts out there who can provide some guidance on ID and evolutionary origin of the structure. There is much work to be done observing these in their natural environment to truly get to the bottom of it, but until then we can at least sleep at night knowing we've solved one part: it's a spider.

Short-eared Dog

The Short-eared Dog (Atelocynus microtis) is a rare, little known canine. Unlike various species of fox, wolves, and other canines on the planet, this one is very difficult to see and even more difficult to study. It only occurs in the dense rainforests of central and western Amazonia and doesn’t appear to be common in any parts of its range. In appearance, the Short-eared Dog looks a bit like a wild feline and has proportions that are somewhat similar to those of a Jaguarundi. Its dark gray coloration is also rather similar to the colors of a Jaguarundi and when seen in the dim recesses of its rainforest habitat, can even be mistaken for that small cat.

However, the Short-eared Dog is a bit larger than the Jaguarundi and like most other canines, has a longer snout and bushier tail. Although very little is known about the natural history of the Short-eared Dog, this solitary hunter is believed to forage for small animals in primary rainforest and bamboo stands. Based on the few sightings of this little known mammal, it may also have a preference for hunting along creeks and other wetland habitats.

This rare animal seems to be restricted to wild, extensive areas of rainforest and more sightings seem to come from southeastern Peru than from other parts of its range. The Short-eared Dog has been seen on several occasions at TRC, Refugio Amazonas and other lodges managed by Rainforest Expeditions.

Some interesting facts about the Short-eared Dog:

The only member of the Atelocynus genus: The Short-eared Dog is the sole member of its genus. Although it doesn’t appear to have any close relatives, it is believed to be somewhat related to fox species that occur in South America.
Naturally rare: This rainforest canine occurs at naturally low densities in part because it has to compete with such other predators as the Ocelot, Puma, Jaguar, and Bush Dog.
Partially webbed toes: The toes of the Short-eared Dog are partially webbed and an adaptation for aquatic habitats and indeed, this canine seems to prefer wetlands in the forest.

How to see a Short-eared Dog on a tour in the Peruvian jungle:

Visit areas where they have been seen most often: The Short-eared Dog is a very difficult species to see but one has a better chance of watching this canine in places that appear to host healthy populations. Tambopata, Peru is one such area.

Hike on rainforest trails near streams and other wetlands: Since this species seems to prefer wetland habitats (and fish have been recoded as being a primary prey item), spending more time near rainforest streams and swamps may increase chances of seeing it.
Explore the rainforest with an experienced guide: Hiking in the rainforest with a knowledgeable guide is just about essential for encountering rare animals like the Short-eared Dog.

Keep an eye out for the Short-eared Dog and other rare rainforest animals while experiencing the Peruvian Amazon jungle with Rainforest Expeditions.

Photographing the Harpy Eagle from a platform in a huge tree

A few weeks ago, wildlife photographers Jeff Cremer of Rainforest Expeditions and Lucas Bustamante and Jaime Culebras of TropicalHerping, had the chance to film and photograph one of the rarest birds of the rainforest, the Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja). Not only did they see a Harpy Eagle, they were able to climb into the canopy and observe two Harpy Eagles with its chick for two days. At one point they were so close they had to switch lenses just to get the entire bird in the frame.

Getting ready to climb into the rainforest canopy

"Its so rare it’s like seeing a Unicorn” says Jeff Cremer of Rainforest Expeditions. “When Jaime and Lucas sent me a message on Facebook saying that they found a Harpy Eagle nest I booked the next flight to the jungle.”

Harpy Eagles are the top predators of the Amazon sky. These massive birds of prey have a wingspan of six to seven feet and, when sitting, have the height of a five-year-old child. Coming equipped with talons the size of Grizzly Bear claws and a huge beak that dismembers monkeys and sloths with ease these creatures clock in as the worlds most powerful bird of prey.

A mother taking care of her baby

The tree with the Harpy Eagle nest

Despite its large dimensions (a big female can be more than a meter in length and have a wingspan of more than two meters), actually seeing a Harpy Eagle in the wild is a major birding accomplishment. Unlike other birds of prey, the Harpy Eagle doesn’t soar but prefers to lurk in the canopy of the forest like some monstrous winged feline. It catches prey by surprise and goes after everything from monkeys to kinkajous and even Brocket Deer.

Their large territory also adds difficulty to the equation since a pair uses anywhere from 3,000 to 7,000 hectares of forest for hunting. When one is seen, it’s usually a brief glimpse of a massive bird flying away through the top branches of the forest.

"Birders spend their whole lives just to catch a glimpse of the Harpy Eagle. We were incredibly lucky to be able to sit in a tree for two days right next to a family of them. What makes that especially rare is the fact that a pair of Harpy Eagles nest just once every two or even three years." Cremer said. "I've seen Jaguars, Tapirs and Puma and have even been the first person to film new species but seeing the Harpy Eagle feed and interact with its chick was really amazing."

Baby Harpy Eagle

At around 4:30am while it was still dark, the team gathered up their photography gear and hiked into the jungle. After a 30 minute hike the team arrived at the tree and started preparing for the climb up. Using climbing harnesses and ascenders the team climbed twelve stories into a huge rainforest tree. What they saw, perched twelve stories high while strapped to a tree, was a Harpy Eagle chick nestled in a four-foot thick, five-foot wide fortress of branches and soft leaves. The chick was patiently waiting for its mother to return and eventually, she did.

Harpy Eagle

"We were really surprised when she showed up. She swooped in without a sound while carrying a full grown Brazilian Porcupine in her claws," Cremer said. “She just sat there and watched while the baby ate it up.”

After they ate the Porcupine, the mother bird began calling until her mate, a huge male Harpy Eagle, came flying in to deliver half the body a

sloth to the nest.

Fellow wildlife photographers and biologists Lucas Bustamante and Jaime Culebras of Tropical Herping have spent the better part of the last decade photographing wildlife in the Ecuadorian rainforest and were with Cremer to photograph and film the eagle.

"In my country, Ecuador, there is an Amazonian tribe called the Huaorani," Bustamante explained. "They believe that they are descendants of the Jaguar and the Harpy Eagle. They worship these two animals as their gods and view them as being very important to the jungle. After being face to face with an Harpy Eagle it is easy to see why they believe that. Finding myself in the jungle with that mythological creature, was like being in front of a legendary Griffin."

Baby Harpy Eagle

"This rest of the trip was like paradise," said Jaime Culebras, "We were able to photograph two Jaguars, a Puma with her baby, a family of Otters playing a few meters from our boat, hundreds of macaws eating right in front of our cameras, four species of monkeys on trails and dozens of peccaries visiting the lodge just about every day. Adding the pair of Harpy Eagles feeding their young in the nest made this trip a dream come true!”

Mother Harpy Eagle

A Close Up Of The Harpy Eagle Holding Half The Body Of A Sloth By Its Head

That human intelligence is superior among the living world is almost a truism. Great intelligence—and a unique ability to reason, to experience emotion, to communicate using complex language and to understand and employ symbolism—are the criteria by which humans are set apart from the rest of the Earth’s creatures. By our own admission, we are the world’s greatest thinkers, and profoundly so.

Yet, for the past several hundred years, scientific discoveries have steadily eroded the uniqueness, the exceptionality, and the centrality of the human species and our place in the world. It all started, of course, with the discovery that the sun does not revolve around the Earth—that our humble little planet is but an insignificant blip in a vast universe replete with countless other worlds, with each one precisely, simultaneously, at its center.

While we do not yet have any direct evidence, astronomers tell us that as many as a million worlds within our own galaxy, the Milky Way, might be inhabited by intelligent life. And with around 400 billion other galaxies sprawled throughout the cosmos, intelligent life is essentially a statistical certainty—a striking and very beautiful proposition indeed.

Most recently, however, it is the cognitive scientists—those who study the acquisition of knowledge and understanding through thought and experience—that are teaching us that we must rethink the notion of our supremacy and our matchless intellect, right here on Earth. They are doing so not only by teaching sign language to gorillas and chimpanzees—an astonishingly impressive feat on the part of researcher and ape alike, to be sure—but by teaching us how the brains of our more distantly-related cousins, the monkeys, work. As it turns out, those monkey brains work a lot like our own.

A brown capuchin monkey forages in a palm tree at the Tambopata Research Center in Madre de Dios, Peru.

The brown capuchin monkey, Cebus apella, is one of several species of capuchins found throughout the Amazon basin, including in Tambopata. The brown capuchin is widely considered among the most intelligent of the New World primates, or the monkeys and tamarins of the American tropics.

Recently, a group of researchers working in a laboratory at Yale University have successfully introduced the concept of currency to their captive brown capuchins. After months of introducing the monkeys to the small, metal disks that would serve as coins, the monkeys learned that they could exchange these coins for highly prized food items such as grapes.

Before long, the monkeys learned how to budget their coins, especially after the researchers introduced another highly-prized food item to the menu: Jell-O. When the price of Jell-O was reduced compared to grapes, monkeys reacted in precisely the way that current laws of economics in humans predict: they bought more Jell-O.

The facial expressions of brown capuchins belie their human-like intelligence.

Perhaps the researchers’ most stunning find came after a monkey was observed exchanging money for sex with another monkey. The monkey had learned well the value of money, and most importantly, that it could be used to trade for goods and services—even prostitution!

You might ask, Why do monkeys have or need such powerful brains—which appear to have many of the high cognitive functions of our own—if they don’t appear to use them in many of the same ways that we do? Why, if they are able to barter for food and even sex in a laboratory setting using a symbolic currency, do we not see monkey towns and cities dotted throughout the rainforests of tropical America, instead of only human towns and cities?

We can’t yet answer the second question, although it is most likely the result of a combination of factors, including a poorly-developed vocal organ that prevents the use of complex language, limited tool use, a lack of bipedalism, or other factors which we do not yet know. But we can fairly confidently answer the first question, Why do monkeys have such powerful brains?

Although monkeys do not typically do math, or read or write, they do live in cooperative groups with complex social structures. Large groups provide protection in numbers, and with large snakes, jungle cats, and birds of prey standing (or slithering or flying) at the ready day and night to make a meal of a monkey, group life has its benefits.

But living in a group presents other challenges. For instance, a strict social hierarchy, in which dominant animals feed first at an abundant resource such as a fruiting tree, say, allows everyone to access food without a brawl each time food is discovered by the group. But how best to remember one’s place in such a hierarchy? Evidently, a large brain allows monkeys to know and recognize other individual monkeys, as well as their own and others’ social statuses. They also use their powerful brains, just as we do, to analyze the feelings and intentions of others, which is done with the help of a large amount of computing power. As we all know, social life and in-group politics are complex, and powerful brains have given primates the tools they need to survive and reproduce in large social groups.

This explanation makes evolutionary sense for humans, as well. Those individuals with more highly-developed brains—which should, on average, make them more competitive in a group setting—should again, on average, reproduce more. Their offspring, in turn will have bigger, more powerful brains, and so on, until, after many generations, intelligence on the order of that of humans has evolved from our more humbly intelligent ancestors.

There remains so much more to learn about human and non-human primate cognition. But one thing is already certain: monkeys are smart, and they use their brains in many of the same ways that we do, often to achieve similar or identical ends. In reality, this should not come as a surprise—on the grand evolutionary tree of life, we are very close relatives. But monkey prostitution? I don’t think anybody expected that!

It is beautiful to consider that we share an evolutionary kinship with these amazing, inquisitive, and crafty creatures. The capuchin's sharp intellectual abilities provide evidence of that kinship.

Discoveries in the cognition of non-human primates—like the capuchin monkeys of Tambopata—continue to shatter the notions of total human uniqueness and our superiority over the rest of the Earth’s lifeforms. But, instead of viewing this as a demotion, I argue that such amazing discoveries are cause to celebrate. To celebrate the emerging knowledge that we are part of a complex yet beautiful creation in which all creatures share in a history and a future more interconnected and fascinating than we’ve ever before imagined—even if some of our shared characteristics might seem a bit unsavory.

By: Mollie Bloudoff-Indelicato

It’s a jungle out there, and in this year’s World Cup, footballers are
jockeying for a seat at the top of the food chain. While some bring
brute strength to the table, others have adapted with speed and
cunning. For these athletes, it’s survival of the fittest—just like in
the Amazon.

To celebrate the 2014 World Cup, we’ve created a list of footballers

who remind us of jungle animals. Do you see the resemblance?

I Got the Moves Like Jaguar

Junior Diaz is the World Cup’s fastest player with a 22 mile-per-hour
sprint. The Costa Rican defender played in five matches and ran about
35 miles on the field in this tournament as of Tuesday.

Still, Diaz is no match for the jaguar, which can run about twice that
fast. These formidable beasts are the largest cats in the Americas, and they have an appetite
to match. Jaguars eat large mammals like deer, peccaries and tapirs.
They also snack on birds, turtles and fish. (Want to get up close and
personal without getting too close? Check out our wildlife photography
tours.)

In ancient Native American cultures, jaguars were thought to be gods
of the underworld. This myth persisted widely until the Mayan empire fell. Just like the
Costa Rican team recently fell. Too soon?

Suarez Bites Like the Bullet Ant

Bullet ant (Photo credit: ggallice)

Bullet ants are the world’s largest ant, growing up to an inch long.
These nasty denizens of the rainforest floor can both bite and sting,
injecting victims with a powerful neurotoxin that causes muscle
contractions and a burning sensation. They’re dubbed “bullet” because
being attacked by one feels like getting shot. (See also “Top 5 Strangest Rainforest Animals”)

Luis Suarez may not look like a bullet ant, but his bite is just as
potent. Nicknamed “The Cannibal,” Suarez was suspended last month for
biting another player during a game. The Uruguayan midfielder leaned
over mid-play and clamped his pearly whites on Germany’s Giorgio
Chiellini.

In the Amazon, bullet ants are traditionally used during local
coming-of-age ceremonies, where young men have to endure multiple
bites and stings to secure a place within the community. And while
Suarez’s bite might not pack the same punch as a bullet ant, it could
have serious health implications. The human mouth contains hundreds of
strains of bacteria—some of which don’t hurt their hosts but can be
fatal to others.

The Naked Truth About Croatian Footballers

The Croatian football team caused a stir when photos of them relaxing
naked by their hotel pool circulated the Internet. Two
photographers hid in the bushes while the squad lounged in the buff
and quickly sold the resulting photos to media outlets. Angry that
their privacy had been violated, the team refused to give interviews
to World Cup reporters.

Luckily, the Peruvian hairless dog is much less self-conscious about
its nudity—its picture adorns artifacts from the Moche, Inca, Chancay
and Chimu peoples. The ancient breed is affectionately called the
“Peruvian Inca Orchid.” Prized for its heat-radiating skin, many
locals prefer cuddling with their canines to hot compresses or heating
pads. (You can cuddle up in one of our rainforest villas.)

These bald dogs get flack in a society accustomed to fuzzy pooches.
Peruvian hairless dogs are often strong contenders for the World’s
Ugliest Dog competition. Do their human counterparts on the Croatian team match suit? You’ll have to decide
for yourself.

Tim Howard and the Poison Dart Frog

English: Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates auratus) at the Louisville Zoo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The U.S. goalie Tim Howard wears a bright green jersey that reminds us
of a poison dart frog. These gorgeous creatures come in many different
colors besides green, dotting the rainforest with splashes of gold,
copper, blue and red. Their bright coloration is a warning that tells
predators to back off—or suffer the toxic consequences. Poison dart
frogs ooze poison from their skin that can maim or even kill their
attackers. (If looks could kill… These exotic amphibians would slay
us.)

There are several species of poison dart frog that carry their eggs
and tadpoles around on their backs—just like Howard carried the U.S.
team through the country’s first two matches. During the U.S. versus
Belgium game, Howard made 16 saves—the most ever recorded during a
World Cup game.

Want to see more jungle animals? Check out our tours of the Amazon with Rainforest Expeditions.

SUPERIOR ROOMS (Posada Amazonas and Refugio Amazonas)

Looking for a beautiful room in the middle of the rainforest. Our superior rooms have lovely, varnished tropical hardwood floors, are 45 square meters, and have an open verandah that looks out into a roadless, wild tropical rainforest preserve. Superior rooms are available as singles, doubles or twins, and each is equipped with a mosquito net over large, comfortable beds, two hypoallergenic pillows per person, a hammock, and a reading table.

Stay in one of our superior rooms and enjoy:

A large, spacious, 45 meter square room.
A big spacious bathroom with plenty of hot water.
Electricity in the middle of the Amazon rainforest until 10 PM every night.
An outlet to charge your laptop, tablet, and other devices.
Free online access from the comfort and privacy of your room to communicate with the outside world, and share the images and excitement of your Amazon adventure.
Personal safe deposit box.
An umbrella (this is the rainforest after all).
Several eco-friendly amenities.
A place to relax after exciting jungle hikes, watching macaws fly past at the canopy tower, visiting a tranquil oxbow lake, experiencing Ese Eja culture, and enjoying other exciting Amazon rainforest activities.

PREMIUM ROOMS (at Refugio Amazonas)

Add a bit of extra comfort and quality to your Amazon experience by staying in one of our premium rooms. We are offering one of these excellent new rooms at Refugio Amazonas for guests who prefer to upgrade their stay in the Peruvian Amazon. Each of these beautiful new rooms features authentic Ese-Eja décor that has been crafted by artists from the local indigenous community, handsome varnished tropical hardwood floors, and the same intimate view of the surrounding rainforest as our other rooms.

These rooms also add comfort with a big luxurious bed, hypoallergenic pillows, ceiling fans, electricity, and other fine amenities in the middle of the jungle.

Relish your time in one of our premium rooms and enjoy:

A large, beautiful room with varnished, tropical hardwood floors.

Large bathrooms that feature showers with tempered glass, and hot water 24 hours a day.

A ceiling fan for a bit of extra comfort in an already well ventilated room.

Electricity in the middle of the Amazon rainforest until 10 PM every night.

Beautiful, authentic Amazonian décor crafted by local Ese-Eja artisans.

Wireless internet service to share the images of your adventure with friends and family from the privacy and comfort of your room.

Small refrigerator and mini bar.

Amenities such as comfortable flippers and binoculars for watching wildlife from the verandah.

A big luxurious bed with hypoallergenic pillows and comfortable sheets.

A reading table to jot down notes about your Amazon adventure.

Electrical outlets for recharging those essential devices.

Safe deposit box.

A comfortable place to relax and email images from an exciting morning at the canopy tower, night hikes, and other adventurous jungle activities.

CLASSIC ROOMS (Posada Amazonas & Refugio Amazonas)

Quaint, comfortable rooms in the middle of the tropical rainforest allow guests to experience this global biodiversity hotspot even during their down time. Monkeys, many species of birds, frogs, and other rainforest wildlife are often visible from our signature windowless verandahs. Those same verandahs also add comfort with excellent ventilation. Our classic rooms have been enjoyed by thousands of guests and are built with local materials such as tropical hardwoods, palms, bamboo, and adobe.

Our classic rooms are available as doubles or triples and come equipped with mosquito nets for the beds and have spacious private bathrooms with hot water. Numerous kerosene lamps and candles provide soft lighting. Electricity and internet are just a short walk to the common areas of the lodge.

Experience the Peruvian jungle in one of our classic rooms and enjoy:

Quaint, classic, comfortable Amazon rainforest rooms.
Watching birds and looking for other rainforest wildlife from an open verandah that looks straight into the Amazon jungle.
All rooms are built with local materials for an authentic experience.
Each bed has a mosquito net.
Hot water bathrooms in the heart of the jungle!
Soft, romantic lighting from candles and kerosene lamps.
An authentic jungle retreat to rest up before and after guided trips to the canopy tower, guided hikes in the jungle, watching Giant Otters and other wildlife at an oxbow lake, and other exciting jungle activities.

Exclusive Amazon Villa

Treat yourself to exclusive lodging and activities in the middle of the Peruvian jungle with a premium stay at our Amazon Villa. The Amazon Villa is a private bungalow designed to provide guests with a comfortable blend of privacy, amenities, and activities that enhance an already unforgettable Amazon jungle experience. Essentially, guests of the Amazon Villa enjoy their own, exclusive bungalow in the heart of the rainforest where they can relax among some of the most biodiverse surroundings on the planet, enjoy views of a beautiful garden backed by majestic primary rainforest, watch for monkeys and hundreds of exotic birds from the comfort of the bungalow, and enjoy private romantic dinners featuring delicious Peruvian cuisine. The exclusive treatment begins upon arrival to the airport with private transport to the bungalow, continues throughout your stay, and doesn’t end until we bring your back to the airport for your departure flight.

This beautiful furnished bungalow is equipped with:

A luxurious king-sized bed.
40 inch flat screen television to watch nature videos and documentaries.
A place to use your laptop for writing or checking out the
photos from every memorable day in the jungle.
A satellite Internet connection.
Electricity in the middle of the rainforest at all times of the day.
A dining room where you can take fresh meals delivered to the bungalow.
Dining table with 6 chairs.
A refrigerator and microwave.
A spacious bathroom equipped with hot water and a tub for soaking in comfort at the end of a long, incredible day in the Peruvian rainforest.

Lucas Bustamante recently visited our lodges in Tambopata, Peru for a few weeks and took these incredible photos of Amazon rainforest wildlife.

Lucas is a passionate biologist and wildlife photographer from Ecuador. For seven years now, he has been dedicated to documenting Ecuador's biodiversity, particularly reptiles and amphibians. Lucas has lead innumerable field trips and workshops. He also has written several articles and books about tropical ecology and herpetology.

Lucas' photographic work has been featured in National Geographic, Anima Mundi, Discovery Channel and many other magazines.

Enjoy!

Macaw

Giant River Otters

Howler Monkeys Playing

Capybara swimming in the Tamboapta River

A rare photo of a Tapir

Tambopata River At Sunset

Puddling Butterflies

Macaws in Flight

A Jaguar Swimming In The Tambopata River

An Ox Bow Lake

Boats Parked At The Tambopata Research Center

Peccary

Another beautiful landscape of the Tambopata River

Howler Monkey

Sunrise Over The Jungle

Peccaries

Squirrel Monkey

A Jaguar Getting Out Of The River

Burrowing Owls At The Tambopata Research Center

Giant River Otters at Posada Amazonas Lodge

Giant River Otter

A Family Of Giant River Otters

Giant River Otters

The Sky Reflected In The Water Of An Ox Bow Lake

Caiman

A Black and White Photo Of A Caiman

Giant River Otters

Add caption

Monkey Frog

Spider Monkeys

Macaws In Flight

For most people seeking a secluded part of the Amazon to spend their time, there are few places better than the Tambopata Research Center. And our team did stop at the TRC, but only to briefly charge up our electrical equipment before heading out…further and further on the rivers until we found ourselves deep in the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, which is one of the most remote parts of the Peruvian Amazon, and therefore one of the most remote places on Earth.

But there’s a reason why not many people go to this place, and a reason it is called ‘The Last Rainforest Without Men’. The area is incredibly remote and there have been no known settlers, even by indigenous tribes. And this time of year the rivers are low, which puts the river rocks closer to our boat and closer to our boat propeller…

A map showing our starting point, the Tambopata Research Center labeled as 'TRC' and the route we took deeper into the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park

“Al agua al agua!” Don Pedro, an old but spry native to the Amazon, would shout. Our conversations would come to an abrupt stop upon hearing these words, and in seconds we would be leaping out of the boat into the waist-high rapids. I quickly lost count of the number of times we had to jump out into murky fast-moving water, find footing on slippery riverbed rocks, and push. The thought of having dry clothing or shoes quickly faded for anyone in the group. But the rapids didn’t just pose a challenge to our navigation or comfort, the rapids almost took away the most important item we possessed: our boat. One particularly challenging rapid caught our boat in the current and our eyes grew wide as dinner plates as we saw our vessel start to turn sideways. We pulled and pushed with all our might and managed to save the boat from flipping, something that would have very quickly put a damper on our trip.

Without such a cohesive and experienced crew, we probably would have never landed on our destination: The Candamo River. It was beautiful. The forest mist had burned off by the time we pulled up to the rocky beach. The lush forest was pressed up on both sides against the Candamo Valley, one of the few remaining pristine rainforests on the planet. We were not the first group to explore this region, but there certainly weren’t many before us. This is not a tourist destination, it is not a site for field researchers, and it is not even a place where people who have lived their entire lives in the Amazon venture.

The crew swiftly set out to clear small sections of a bamboo forest nearby so we could set up camp. Geoff, Jeff, Mike, and I set out into the jungle to scope out a good tree to climb and check out the wildlife. We were not disappointed; Geoff found a tree with perfect conditions for setting up a climbing rig and we stumbled upon something even more unexpected: a lek of neotropical butterflies! To non-entomologists this may not seem like something worth celebrating, but to us this was one of the primary reasons for this expedition. Geoff has spent many many years researching neotropical butterflies, and we now had the opportunity to sample for species belonging to the family Nymphalidae and contribute to science in an area where no one had investigated this amazing family of insects until now.

For the next couple of days this was our home. We woke early, hiked, explored butterfly and other animal biodiversity, climbed trees, and investigated a 100+ year old bridge constructed for rubber trade that had been abandoned long ago swallowed by the forest. The biting black flies were in full force in this region, and were slowly turning our hands other extremities into pulp. A night of rain caused the river to quickly swell and consume our camp site along the riverbank, forcing us to retreat deeper into the bamboo forest. But we pressed on and made full use of our time in the incredible region.

The view from our 30 meter tree climb. We can see what used to be our camp site on the rocky beach, which quickly got swallowed up by the rising water after some rain.

We shared cerveza with the crew as we gathered in a circle in the evenings and exchanged stories with one another. “Cerveza en Candamo…” one of the crew members mused with a smirk. We made cheers in several different languages and soaked up the moment as we realized what a special opportunity it was to be here right now.

Time seemed to fly by, and before we knew it, it was time to pack up and depart. After the boat was loaded we snapped a few group pictures and set off. This time it wasn’t pushing against the rapids we were concerned about, but riding with the rapids, now unable to stop and slow down even if we wanted to. Once more, if not for the amazing skills of our boat driver and navigators, we probably would have found ourselves quickly stranded in the middle of the Amazon Basin.

Our return was quick as we rode with the rapids and before we knew it we were back at the Tambopata Research Center. Seeing other boats and people felt strange, as the last few days made us used to being the only human beings around in an incredibly remote rainforest. We were fortunately able to stay in some vacant rooms at the TRC and caught up on some much needed sleep sans black flies, mosquitoes, and rocks for pillows.

The experience has left me humbled and appreciative of the region we were so lucky to spend just a few days in. The wildlife and biodiversity certainly lived up to the reputation. The remoteness and difficulty of entering the region itself makes me thankful that we had such an amazing team that worked so well together. If not for our skilled Peruvian navigators and crew members, we would probably still be trying to get past the first rapid near TRC.

We painstakingly photographed and filmed as much of the trip as we possibly could and we are working now to edit and share this material with you! I hope that you enjoyed reading about this adventure, because to us it certainly was a real adventure in every sense of the word. Challenges, danger, discovery, beauty and excitement come to mind when I think back to the Candamo expedition of October 2014. It may have only been a once in lifetime opportunity to visit this place, but I hope I’m wrong about that. Perhaps there will one day be a Candamo round two…

How studying Macaws can save the Amazon

It’s one of the most stunning sights in the Peruvian rainforest. Every morning, just after sunrise, a riot of rainbows swoops down on the world’s largest avian clay lick in the southern jungle of Peru.

The rainbows are actually birds — large macaws, parrots, and parakeets, feathers colored in ultra bright shades of red, yellow, green, and blue.

Few visitors ever get to see this daily congregation of bird life. The clay lick, called the Collpa Colorado, is located more than 6 hours by boat from the nearest town. The Tambopata Research Center, a remote jungle lodge operated by the ecotourism company Rainforest Expeditions, enjoys a privileged location just 500 meters away.

Bird fanatics make once-in-a-lifetime trips out here specifically to witness this spectacle of sound and color. Researchers likewise flock here to study macaw behavior and to catalogue the extreme biodiversity of the surrounding Tambopata National Reserve.

But — cue the dark clouds, lightning, and thunder — this paradise for birds is in danger of destruction.

Macaw survival and rainforest conservation go hand in hand

There is gold in the river beds and oil in the ground of Peru’s jungle areas. Industries are keen to extract these resources no matter what the costs to wildife and the environment.

Macaws have already experienced habitat loss as a result of road building, tree logging, and clear-cutting for crops and cattle ranching.

In the early 2000s, conservationists and ecotourism allies lost the battle to halt construction of the Transoceanic Highway through the Amazonof Peru and Brazil. Completed in 2011, the road now cuts a swath through previously unaccessible areas of the rainforest.

We have not yet accounted for the impacts of the highway, but scientists believe that population fragmentation and extinction will be among the long-term consequences for macaws and other species.

The only way to save macaws is to keep pristine areas of the rainforest intact. The alternative — loss of wilderness areas, deforestation, environmental pollution, extinction of rare species found nowhere else in the world — is simply unacceptable.

The project to save macaws

Developed in collaboration with the ecotourism company Rainforest Expeditions and the NGO Filmjungle.eu Society, “The Macaw Project” is a documentary project that will showcase exclusive footage obtained by scientists on the front lines of macaw conservation research in Peru’s southeastern Amazon. The goal of the film is to bring attention to the problems facing macaws and to propose solutions for how to save them.

“The film will introduce the viewer into secret places of the rainforest never inhabited by any people and not visited by tourists,” says George Olah, PhD scholar at Australian National University and lead researcher for “The Macaw Project.” After a successful fundraising campaign through Indiegogo, Mr. Olah and his colleagues are currently in the script writing stage and expect to complete the film by April 2015.

Scientists are among the few outsiders allowed to enter the wildest parts of the Amazon, including the Tambopata-Candamo region where Rainforest Expedition’s Tambopata Research Center is based. “The Macaw Project” places us in their mud-splattered boots as they go about the work of documenting macaw life cycles.

The rainforest looks quite different from the perspective of a macaw and studying their behavior yields fascinating insights not only about macaws but also about broader trends affecting the rainforest.

Peru for Less (PFL) is a proud sponsor of the “The Macaw Project.” The decision to support the film project was a no-brainer for Peru for Less Director Richard Leon. “I remember going to the Amazon, to Iquitos, for the first time when I was eight-years-old and I can still recall how amazing it was,” Leon said. “We must do our best to save the same experiences for future generations.”

The survival of macaws, and the entire web of life that exist only in this part of Peru, requires that we continue to protect the last remaining areas of pristine jungle. By highlighting the links between macaws and rainforest conservation, “The Macaw Project” aims to inspire discussion and to spark ideas for how to accomplish this important work.

Can tourism save the Amazon?

At Peru for Less, we see a direct link between supporting ecotourism providers and contributing toward Amazon conservation. “Peru is a fascinating country with incredible biodiversity,” said Mr. Leon. “We believe in supporting partners such as Rainforest Expeditions because they are leaders in developing best practices for sustainable tourism.”

When travelers ask us about what to see and do in Peru (beyond Machu Picchu), our first recommendation is frequently the Amazon near Puerto Maldonado. It’s a short flight to get there from either Cusco or Lima, and it is also a hotbed for ecotourism projects. Rainforest Expeditions operates three eco-lodges here, including the already mentioned Tambopata Research Center as well as the excellent Posadas Amazonas and Refugio Amazonas, where guests enjoy unexpected amenities such as wireless Internet and hot water showers.

Ecotourism is just one avenue toward rainforest conservation, but it’s an important one. Terra Hall, Brand Manager at Peru for Less, was a recent guest at Posadas Amazonas. “It is the most salient example of the circle of life I have ever witnessed,” said Hall. “I've always been a conservationist but after visiting and seeing the jungle firsthand and seeing the interconnected of life there, it strengthened my belief.”

The Amazon is one of the last places on earth where Mother Nature still rules. We want to help keep it that way, for macaws, for countless rainforest species, and for future generations of travelers to be able to experience the shift of perspective that comes from being immersed in a different world. We look forward to the premier of “The Macaw Project” premiers and to learning more about what we — both as a travel company and as travelers ourselves — can do to save this previous species and the environment in which they live.

Peru for Less

Peru for Less is a leading agency for travel to Peru. Since 1998, the company has been working with travelers to craft best value Peru travel packages. From the Amazon Jungle to Machu Picchu, Peru for Less specializes in travelers who seek worry-free, fully customizable tours and services combined with personalized attention from Peru travel experts.

A couple of years ago, wildlife photographer Jeff Cremerstumbled upon something very special during a night hike in the rainforest of Tambopata, Peru. While passing a bend on the trail, he noticed several glowing green dots embedded within a dirt wall. Curious and seeking more information, Jeff snapped some pictures and posted them to Reddit in a section where site users help to answer questions and identify species. It turns out, these glowing dots were likely due to some kind of insect larvae, possibly a beetle, but the rest of the story remained a mystery. What exactly was this strange species and why were they glowing in the middle the Amazon rainforest in a dirt wall? This past October, Jeff was accompanied by entomologist Aaron Pomerantz and his colleagues Mike Bentley and Geoff Gallice, who are graduate students at the University of Florida. Together, they hoped to “shed some light” on this glowing mystery.

Several green glowing dots can be seen on this dirt wall in the Amazon rainforest.

Animals that produce and emit their own light have been of great interest to biologists, chemists, and pretty much any nature lover who has had the privilege of encountering one of the many glowing critters out there. There is something mesmerizing and beautiful about an ocean lit up by glowing plankton or watching an open field come alive at night, illuminated with fireflies. The technical term for this glowing phenomenon is known as bioluminescence, and it has evolved many times in the animal kingdom. There are several different reasons that animals utilize this emission of light including: attracting mates, defense against predators, and luring in prey. And this last reason brings us back to our mysterious glow worms…

The larvae up-close, showing off the luminescence from the glands near the head.

As Aaron points out in the video, these larvae are sticking their glowing heads out of the dirt wall with their freakish looking mandibles outstretched. This immediately tipped off the entomologists that this appeared to be a sit-and-wait, or ambush, predatory strategy. You’ve also probably noticed that some insects seem to flock to your porch light at night; the glow worms may be taking advantage of this attraction to light phenomenon. That is, they may emit a green light and wait for a nice juicy insect to come right into that lure, and right into those powerful mandibles. This is not unlike the strategy that deep sea angler fish employ to lure prey. The light production in these glow worms is likely due to a molecule known as Luciferin, which is also the compound that many firefly species use to emit light.

Zoomed in on the mouth parts.

Mike helped confirm our predator hypothesis by presenting the larvae with a stick and then an ant. Sure enough they were voracious, clamping their mandibles shut and dragging their prey into the tunnels...never to be seen again. Due to their predatory nature coupled with the fact that these monstrous looking glow worms reminded us of the movie Tremors (a 1990 western film about killer underground creatures), we just had to take several close-up pictures for your viewing pleasure.

The glowing larvae with its freakish mandibles outstretched and waiting for the next unsuspecting victim.

So what species did we investigate here? We believe these belong to a family of beetles called Elateridae, which are commonly known as click beetles. But beyond that, we are not entirely sure what species this is or if it has been described yet (perhaps through the power of the internet we can get an answer). Elateridae is a very large family with around 10,000 described species in the world and only about 200 species have been documented to display bioluminescence. Some species of glowing beetle larvae in Brazil can be found in old termite nests where they attract and catch prey like ants and termites. The behavior that we observed where the larvae had utilized a dirt wall, as opposed to a termite mound, for their home and hunting ground could be a different niche not yet documented for this enigmatic group of glow worms.

Close-up of the glow worm head. Cute, huh?

So at the end of the day, why should we care about these critters? Aside from the fact that they are downright bizarre and extraordinarily cool looking, the science behind bioluminescent click beetles is still lacking. What role do they play in the complex environment and ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest? Why exactly did they develop the ability to produce their own light, and how did this trait evolve? What can they teach us about their biochemistry and the biodiversity of life on our planet? These questions are far from answered, but perhaps a curious naturalist will come along and help to solve this, and many other, Amazonian mysteries.

An infographic on our predatory glow worms. Click image to enlarge.

We hope that this story has sparked a little fascination in you, because it certainly did for us when we first laid eyes on them! We will investigate these amazing glow worms further to see what more we can learn while seeking to protect them and their environment.

-Aaron Pomerantz, Entomologist

What ecotourism means for indigenous tribes in the Amazon

By: Kathleen McAfee

This article is presented byPeru For Less.

Photo by Elizabeth Weintraub / Peru for Less

Over the past 30 years, tourism in Peru has seen an explosive increase, growing on average of 25% every 5 years. As one of the largest and most profitable industries in Peru, tourism at its core is evolving to create new facets which are gaining importance and momentum. Perhaps one of the most intriguing and innovative of these new developments is ecotourism. In the heat of the climate change debates and worldwide push for countries and industries to “go green”, ecotourism in Peru, especially in the Amazon region, has gained popularity among the environmentally conscious travel community. Visitors and industry pioneers are eager to understand how people can travel more responsibly and protect the beautiful destinations affected by modern tourism.

Just as the term implies, ecotourism is a niche of the tourism industry which invokes environmentally sound principles and business practices among players in the tourism industry. It aims to protect the land, wildlife, natural and man-made attractions, as well as the cultural traditions and livelihood of indigenous and local populations.

Photo by: Alisha Thompson / Peru for Les

One of the areas of Peru most affected by tourism is the Amazon Rainforest. This vast region spans about 60% of the country, contains thousands of endemic and endangered plants and animals, and is home to about 5% (about 1.5 million) of the country’s population. Due to the popularity of this region among international travelers and its appeal to natural resource export companies, the 5% population (widely of indigenous tribes and heritage) living in the Peruvian Amazon is sadly overlooked, misrepresented, and even marginalized. It is not uncommon that large companies force entire indigenous communities off their lands or trick them with complicated legal contracts in order to gain access to cheap lumber, petroleum, and mined precious metals such as gold and silver. While the Peruvian government and environmental activists have made progressive efforts to protect regions of the Peruvian Amazon, unsustainable urban development around the Tambopata and Amazon Rivers have sparked growing controversy. Such projects as the Transoceanic Highway that passes through the Puerto Maldonado and unprecedented increases in visitors to the region only threaten further the lands and the livelihood of indigenous people living in the Peruvian Amazon. While the current situation paints a bleak picture for the people of the Amazon Jungle, there exists a gleaming hope in the fundamental tenets of ecotourism.

Photo credit: Rainforest Expeditions / Posada Amazonas

How does ecotourism benefit indigenous populations in the Peruvian Amazon, you ask? Well, let’s consider Rainforest Expeditions’ Posada Amazonas project in the Department of Madre de Dios around the Tambopata River. This initiative was envisioned in 1998 in efforts to protect the people of the Ese Eja community as well as their lands and surrounding wildlife from the negative impacts of urban development. The result has been the establishment of a top quality ecolodge that is owned by the community and co-managed by Rainforest Expeditions. The Ese Eja community also receives 60% of the profits earned by the ecolodge. The Posada Amazonas project is a leading example of how ecotourism can be profitable and conducive to the preservation of natural habitats and indigenous populations. Other entities have followed suit in order to work more closely with indigenous populations in the Department of Loreto. A growing number of tour operators within the Amazon Basin emphasize and promote responsible travel practices, provide energy efficient and low environmental impact facilities and services, and even help to sell locally-made products hand-crafted by the indigenous communities.

Photo credit: Elizabeth Weintraub / Peru for Less

So what can we take away from the ecotourism movement in the Peruvian Amazon? We learn that not only is ecotourism profitable, but it is also a completely plausible idea that tourism can benefit both travel companies and assist in the protection of indigenous communities, their lands, and the wildlife which surrounds them.

We also learn that we can all do our part as responsible travelers to reduce our impact on destinations we visit, including the local people who live there. It is as easy as remembering to recycle during your trip and minimize waste with reusable travel gear, or researching to find an eco-friendly hotel or lodge accommodation that also gives back to the local community. Here are some ways you can be a friend to mother nature during your next vacation.

As travelers and business alike, it is important not only to respect the environment of the destination to which we are visiting, but also respect the local people who live there in order to protect the beauty and allure for years to come.

This article is presented by Peru For Less the Peru Tours Experts. Contact us today to book your Amazon Toursadventure.

It’s not something your cat coughed up. And no, it’s not really Donald Trump’s hair. It’s actually a caterpillar that sports a toupée of highly toxic venom-tipped spines. Also known as the puss caterpillar or flannel moth, this neotropical species belongs to the family Megalopygidae. Jeff and Phil reported on an interesting yellow larva a couple of years ago near the Posada Amazonas Lodge. We spotted this furry purple beauty in December 2014 near the Tambopata Research Center on a day hike and had to stop for a mini photo shoot.

View of the caterpillar from the side

View of the caterpillar curled-up in a defensive position after being disturbed

View of the caterpillar's underside

If you happen to touch one of these fluffy caterpillars, it could cause an intense and painful inflammation of the skin which could last several days. Hoping to avoid these symptoms out in the jungle, we were careful not come into physical contact as we snapped a few pictures and then let our noxious insect friend be on its way. So should you encounter one of these, do as Gwen Pearson says: Never touch anything that looks like Donald Trump's hair!

-Aaron

Follow entomologist Aaron Pomerantz on twitter

Spiders! They’re creatures you’re almost certain to see in the Peruvian Amazon, whether you like it or not.

A spined Micrathena spider, belonging to family Araneidae

Spiders have been around for hundreds of millions of years and have adapted to almost every corner of the earth. As predators, they have developed a very unique strategy of producing webs made of silk to catch prey and one particular group, called the orb-weavers, create spiral round-shaped webs to ensnare their flying victims.

An orb-weaver in the genus Nephila, family Araneidae

The Deinopoidea (the cribellate orb weavers) and the Araneoidea (the viscid silk orb weavers) are two groups of spiders that make geometrically similar orb webs and for a long time scientists thought that orb weavers were one distinct lineage. However, a recent study out of Harvardproves that this is false: the orb weavers are in fact nonmonophyletic, meaning they do not share a single origin.

The net-casting spider, a cribellate orb-weaver in the family Deinopidae

The researchers utilized thousands of genes from various spider species and conducted a phylogenetic analysis, which looks at the evolutionary relationships among groups of organisms. Here’s how it works in a nutshell:

They used next-generation sequencing, a technology which allows scientists to rapidly sequence the genetic material of an organism.
For each spider specimen, the messenger RNA (mRNA) was extracted, complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries were constructed, and samples were run using an Illumina platform, thus sequencing and generating a huge amount of genetic data.
The data was then used to construct a phylogenetic tree, which represents the evolutionary relationships among spiders.
After all the hard work, the researchers produced the most comprehensive analysis to date for investigating spider evolution.

How could you not love that spidey-face?

The controversy over a single or a convergent origin of the orb web goes back to at least the 1880s. Research, primarily based on behavioral and morphological data, have supported a single origin of the orb web, but this new study clearly shows that Deinopoidea is not closely related to Araneoidea.

Orb-weaver (Araneidae) enjoying a freshly caught grasshopper

Thus, orb webs appear to have evolved convergently in Araneoidea and Deinopoidea. Either that, or the orb web is an ancestral phenomenon and has been lost in all lineages except Araneoidea and Deinopidea. This is very cool research, and only time will tell what new insights scientists come to gain on arachnid evolution.

Citation: Fernandez R, Hormiga G, Giribet G. 2014. Phylogenomic analysis of spiders reveals nonmonophyly of orb weavers. Current Biology 24:1772-1777

-Aaron

Follow Aaron Pomerantz on twitter

Nicole Lizares works for conservation organizations in the Philippines and recently joined us for an expedition to the Tambopata Research Center. Below is an article published by Nicole in the February/March 2015 issue of 'Explore Philippines'. Enjoy!

Text version:

'Stumbled' is perhaps not the most impressive word to describe how I managed to find myself in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, given that I was a grad student who had supposedly done her research well and had prepared meticulously for this trip, but it is the most appropriate.

After more than 29 hours hopping on and off airplanes, riding in cabs, a bus, and finally, on a boat upstream for what felt like an eternity (it was really just around four hours), I found myself dusty, sweaty, and stumbling along a trail in the middle of the Tambopata National Reserve, one of the largest protected areas (covering more than 271,000 hectares of land) on the Peruvian side of the Amazon. Our final destination: The Tambopata Research Center, a.k.a TRC, an eco-lodge owned and operated by Rainforest Expeditions. I thanked the heavens that I was in their good hands.

Reputed to be one of the most remote eco-lodges in South America and the only one to be situated inside a national reserve, the TRC is in a very unique position. One of the world's largest clay licks (mounds of mud and salt deposits where thousands of birds flock every morning to get their dose of the mineral) is a mere 500 meters from the lodge. The TRC's remote location also means that the forest ecosystems around it remain pristine and largely untouched, offering researchers and scientists a rare opportunity to study wildlife in their most undisturbed state.

In fact, the lodge's name harkens back to a time when it was purely that: a research center, housing scientists who were studying the macaw population and working to protect the wild birds from illegal hunters.

"That was back in 1989," shares our local forest guide, Frank Pichardo. "Eduardo Nycander, he was a wildlife photographer who started The Macaw Project in this area to gather information about the macaws that could help in protecting them, and he founded what is today known as Rainforest Expeditions with two other partners."

TRC's first clients were heavy-duty photographers and bird watchers who slept on a platform with makeshift mats (called "lengua de gato" or cat's tongue because of their thinness" under mosquito nets. There was no latrine so the guests would take baths and do their business in the flowing river.
Today TRC boasts an 18-room lodge, eight shared bathrooms, and surrounding forest trails encompassing a combined web measuring about 20 kilometers and offering access to a range of wildlife habitats from bamboo forests to terra-firma forests, and riverine beds to palm swamps.

Frank, who has been with Rainforest Expeditions for almost six years, agrees that the company has come a long way from its humble beginnings, and that the most significant progress has been on the forefront of conservation and social enterprise.

"I am really proud to be able to say that Rainforest Expeditions started ecotourism in this area of Peru," he beams. "One of the reasons that I really like working here is that, besides being involved in research, the company also has several projects and a cooperation with the local community in this area."

Frank is referring to the indigenous Esa-Eja tribe in the nearby community of Infierno, two hours upriver from Puerto Maldonado, in Southeastern Peru, who also happens to be Rainforest Expeditions' business partner.

"Rainforest Expeditions also runs another lodge called Posada Amazonas, which is closer to Puerto Maldonado and is partly run by the community. They have an agreement with the company wherein 60% of the profits stay within the community, and the rest goes to Rainforest Expeditions for profit and maintenance of the facilities," Frank explains.

Besides TRC and Posada Amazonas, Rainforest Expeditions also runs Refugio Amazonas, the "luxury" lodge option to TRC's more adventurous and Spartan vibe, and the company is currently undergoing research to build a fourth lodge. Whatever the theme, though, the team behind Rainforest Expeditions seems to have their formula down pat.

In all of the lodges, the rooms and structures are built to blend in with the environment, using traditional materials. A unique aspect of all of the rooms is that they have left the fourth wall vacant, opting instead for a waist- high balcony that opens out into the rainforest. This design is a singular feature for all Rainforest Expeditions lodges and gives guests the distinct feeling of being in closer contact with the forest but with the comforts of a hotel room.

Needless to say, we never had to look very far for wildlife. We would barely be ten steps from the entrance to the lodge before a strange new insect, a well-camouflaged snake, or a majestic bird would hold up our group. Boat rides were punctuated by sightings of capybaras or tapirs. Our well-versed and knowledgeable guides seemed to know the jungle like the backs of their hands, and could expertly field our queries and feed us tidbits of useful trivia.

I woke up every morning to the majestic sounds of the orchestra that was the Amazon rainforest just behind my bedpost: birds screeching intermittently, giant crickets chirping in a rising and falling crescendo, and the strange gurgling sounds of howler monkeys screaming at each other from the treetops.

Some days I would wake to find a rogue macaw poking around in my clothesline, probably hunting for some of the nuts and dried mangoes I would stuff into my pockets and take on hikes. And even though we had been warned to keep food locked up or stored safely in plastic bins or run the risk of getting our rooms invaded, one particular day we awoke to a mighty ruckus coming from a neighboring room: a stubborn guest had found some curious possums snooping (successfully) in his backpack for some chocolate bars.

A few days before the end of our trip, the host and humid skies finally broke and poured cool, wet rain on the TRC grounds. It didn't last very long, but while it poured, I got the sense that the entire forest had gone quite still. I stood for a long time watching the rain from the shelter of TRC's entrance hall, admiring the way the sun caught on the lodge's thatch roofs and appreciating the cold, damp breeze the rain blew in, and not for the last time, I marveled at this little piece of paradise right smack in the middle of the Amazon jungle that Rainforest Expeditions had somehow nurtured, protected, and turned into a home. For information on Rainforest Expeditions and its various tours and projects, visit www.perunature.com

Anyone who has spent time in a lab has likely hunched over a microscope at some point. They are standard instruments for visualizing and investigating small objects. The problem is that microscopes are relatively large and expensive, which can be a barrier to people with an interest in science or microscopy but who can't afford this bulky piece of equipment. This can also make work outside of the lab challenging, especially if you find yourself trying to explore something tiny out in the middle of a jungle or in an under-developed country.

This is where the "Foldscope" comes in, a device developed by the Prakash Lab at Stanford University. This origami-based optical microscope weighs in at a whopping 8.8 grams (less than two nickels), is small enough to fit in a pocket, and costs less than one dollar.

The Foldscope initially arrives as a sheet of paper with two primary fold-out parts. Just pop these out, follow the instructions (it comes with an instruction manual as well as online video step-by-step instructions) and the set up is complete in less than ten minutes.

The final product is a 70 x 20 x 2 mm³ microscope platform. The Foldscope kit also comes with a low-magnification lens, a high-magnification lens, magnetic strips (allows for connection to a cell phone), and a light module. Slides are inserted into the platform and samples are viewed through a micro-lens while you can pan and focus with your thumbs.

This device could provide important opportunities for examining specimens in the field as well as screening and diagnostics for disease-causing agents. For instance, the Foldscope can be used to detect:

Plasmodium falciparum (parasitic protozoan that causes malaria)
Leishmania donovani (parasitic protozoan that causes leishmaniasis)
Eschleria coli (bacterium that can cause painful abdominal cramping and severe, sometimes bloody, diarrhea)
Trypanosoma cruzi (parasitic protozoan that causes Chagas disease)
Human sickle cell
And much more

By removing cost barriers, the researchers hope that the Foldscope will provide new opportunities for a broad user base in both science education and field work for science and medicine.

Size comparison of a stereo microscope (top) the Foldscope (bottom left) and banana for scale (bottom right)

The Foldscope can also be connected to a standard smartphone for taking images or video. Here are a few images taken using the low-mag lens (140X magnification) on an Android phone: cells of a leaf (top left), sugar crystals (top right), a phytoseiid mite from my garden (bottom left), and celery stalk (bottom right). I think my preparation of the slides could be improved to produce better images, but all-in-all I'm still amazed that these were taken using a paper-based 50-cent microscope.

Another important point that the authors bring up is that many children have never used a microscope, even in developed countries like the United States. A universal program providing a "microscope for every child" could help to foster an interest in science at an early age. They hope to make microscopes approachable, accessible, and inspire children to examine biodiversity on our planet as amateur microscopists and to make discoveries of their own.

Overall, I'm pretty excited about this device. It's cheap, it's simple, and it works - but this invention required an amazing amount of research and engineering by the Stanford group. I'll be bringing the Foldscope with me on my next trip to the Peruvian Amazon and hope to investigate some interesting small organisms while there. Stay tuned!

-Aaron

Citation: Cybulski JS, Clements J, Prakash M (2014) Foldscope: Origami-Based Paper Microscope. PLoS ONE 9(6): e98781. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098781

You can follow Aaron for more updates on Twitter @AaronPomerantz and the Stanford Researchers @PrakashLab

Things aren't always as they seem in the jungle. As the sun was setting and we were heading back to the Tambopata Research Center, Chris Johns made a very cool spot. At first it appeared as if two ants were stuck together on a branch...but upon closer inspection we realized that we were dealing with an ant-mimicking spider feasting on its ant prey.

The mimic in this case is a neotropical crab spider Aphantochilus rogersi (right). It is an incredible mimic of Cephalotesants (its prey on the left). Chris and I had to count the legs to be convinced it was really a spider. This type of ant-mimicry is known as myrmecomorphy, as these spiders have evolved morphological and behavioral characteristics to resemble ants.

Myself and the December team photographing some arthropods 'Meet Your Neighbors' style.

But why did this ant-mimicry trait evolve in the spider? Well let's break it down:

Ants are often equipped with chemical defenses and have lots of sisters to defend one another. This makes them risky prey items for a predator.
Spiders, on the other hand, are usually solo and make a juicy meal for a predator, like a bird.
So, if spiders become selected over evolutionary time to appear more like ants, it could trick visual predators into avoiding them. This is known as Batesian mimicry: when a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species.

However, as pointed out in the comment thread in Alex Wild's post on these spiders, Cephalotes ants have pretty good vision. So if the spider was less convincing in its mimicry, the Cephalotes ants might be able to avoid the predator before it gets too close. It could be that this spider evolved to look like Cephalotes ants for both reasons: to trick the ants, and to trick visual predators.

So the next time you find yourself walking around nature, just remember: things aren't always as they seem.

-Aaron

Citation: Castanho LM, Oliveira PS (1997) Biology and behaviour of the neotropical ant-mimicking spider Aphantochilus rogersi (Araneae: Aphantochilidae): nesting, maternal care and ontogeny of ant-hunting techniques. Journal of Zoology 242: 643-650.

You can follow Aaron on Twitter @AaronPomerantz

As biologists and general biodiversity enthusiasts, coming across something as impressive as a Wandering Spider for the first time was quite an experience. It can be mildly alarming how abundant Wandering Spiders (Phoneutria spp.) are in the lowland Amazon, seemingly perched on every other leaf along the trail.

Often hyped as one of the deadliest spider in the world, some of the arachnids in this genus pack a bite full of several protein toxins. What’s more is that they’re frequently noted to be extremely aggressive once provoked, escalating from quite calm to very angry in a matter of moments.

It’s difficult to tell the eight species of Phoneutria apart from another. They vary widely in outward appearance and many of the diagnostic features are internal. For some species in this group, it’s not really known how toxic their venom is. Because of the difficulty in distinguishing species, and the fact that some Phoneutria may be more venomous than others, the common adage If you don’t know what it is, then don’t pick it up would apply in many ways to encountering a Wandering Spider in the forest.

But that’s not always an option for hyper curious biologists – especially ones that are most interested in enigmatic, often feared (sometimes misunderstood) creatures like the Wandering Spider! So, naturally, we got in close to snap some shots of these impressive arachnids this past winter. We photographed this spider for about an hour and it was very patient with us!

Introducing our subject to the Meet Your Neighbors Field Studio to take diagnostic photos of these spiders in situ.

Wandering Spiders have a very conspicuous threat display. Once perturbed, they usually lift two pairs of legs towards the offender and sway from side to side, following any movements by the potential predator. This is a defensive posture and shouldn’t be mistaken as unwarranted aggressiveness. If you see this display, you’ve most likely accidentally disturbed the spider’s perch.

The typical prey items of Phoneutria are larger insects found in and around the understory foliage of lowland Amazonian rainforests.

You can follow Chris on Twitter @Chris_A_Johns

Some of my favorite hikes take place late at night in Tambopata. The rainforest bursts with wildlife activity after things cool down from the scorching hot afternoon. Nonstop mating calls pierce the air from frogs and crickets. Night also happens to be the best time to see weird stuff...

So on to the night hike. I spotted this green leaf katydid, which is a beautiful work of mimicry, but not particularly uncommon or strange (relative to other stuff I see in the Amazon). What was strange, however, was a small organism clinging to the katydid.

It looked like a cream-colored dot on the side of the katydid and upon closer inspection, appeared to be some sort of gravid insect (meaning it looked like it was full of eggs). This seemed unusual, so I took some closer shots hoping to figure out what it was.

After a couple of days, the bizarre insect laid dozens of eggs in a big cluster and then died. The eggs never did hatch, but I'm starting to think that I spared the leaf katydid (or its eggs) from a parasite-filled demise.

Unknown insect next to its cluster of eggs

I'm still not sure what this is. Some sort of gravid parasitic wasp (or fly?) would be my guess. But I decided to post some pictures on here and ask for help identifying this strange insect. If you have any ideas please leave them in the comments below or drop me a line on Twitter @AaronPomerantz.

If you're familiar with the 2009 science fiction film, Avatar, you may have enjoyed the lush extraterrestrial glowing rainforest. But the glowing rainforest that I experienced was real, and it occurred in the Peruvian Amazon of Tambopata this past March.

I should start off by mentioning that I'm an entomologist, and part of my job involves searching for Neotropical insects and investigating their bizarre behaviors. This leads us to our first bioluminescent critter:

#1: Predatory Glow Worms

A predatory glow worm patiently lures insect prey into its mandibles with its bioluminescence

These are the larvae of click beetles, which are in the family Elateridae. While over 10,000 species of click beetles are known world wide, only a couple hundred species display bioluminesence. The larva pictured above likely belongs to the genus Pyrearinus, but we don't know the species yet. In any case, we think they utilize their bioluminesence, which only occurs in glands near their heads, to attract insect prey. With their natural light trap, they snag unsuspecting victims with their mandibles and pull them into the abyss of their tunnel.

#2 Flashing Fireflies

Ventral (right) and dorsal (left) view of an adult firefly. Bioluminescnence is emitted in flashes from the lower abdomen.

Next up on the list, we have the more commonly known fireflies, which are beetles in the family Lampyridae. The adults light up the sky near the river each night in order to attract mates. Males and females flash bioluminescent signals from special cells in their abdomens at just the right intervals and frequencies to catch the attention of the opposite sex of the same species.

#3 The Enigmatic Railroad Worm

Female railroad worm with lights on (left) and lights off (right). Light is emitted from the head and paired photic organs on each body segment.

The third bioluminescent organism was a big surprise. Crawling in the leaf litter was a railroad worm in the family Phengodidae. This is a less well known family of beetles whose members display bioluminescence and they also have another bizarre characteristic in which the female beetles are "larviform", meaning they are fully developed yet still appear much like larvae. Check out the video of our railroad worm showing off its glow in Tambopata:

#4 Glowing Ground

And last but not least, as we were taking pictures of the railroad worm we noticed something else strange. After we killed our headlamps, the ground around us appeared to start lighting up.
While we thought we must certainly be going crazy with all this bioluminescence on the brain, our eyes adjusted and the leaves were indeed glowing. Or more specifically, the fungi growing on the decaying leaf litter was glowing.

The light was faint, but these long-exposures reveal the distinct green luminescence.

I still have no idea why this particular fungus was emitting light. I'm aware that some fungi are bioluminescent to attract insect at night to move spores around, but something tells me this is different. The glowing is incredibly faint and it's not the fungal spores that are glowing, but rather the mycelium. What purpose would this serve? I've heard an explanation that the fungus sequesters a large amount of phosphorous and this is what causes the glow, but I'm still searching for a concrete explanation and species identification for this fungus.

So there you have it! Several species of glowing insects and glowing fungi condensed in one area. It really felt like we were in the rainforest of the Avatar movie, only even better because it was real life! We found all of these incredible glowing organisms near the Refugio Amazonas jungle lodge in Tambopata, Peru, so if you're curious about discovering some bioluminescence of your own, come here and check it out!

-Aaron Pomerantz, Entomologist

Follow Aaron on Twitter @AaronPomerantz

On my recent travels through the Peruvian Amazon, I came upon the craziest caterpillar that I have ever seen, and subsequently yelled at it for hours.

Why did I yell at it? Well, its strange behavior towards sound was why I noticed it in the first place. I had just climbed to the top of a canopy tower overlooking the rainforest when I called to my group below me - suddenly a flash of movement at eye-level caught my attention.

On a nearby tree branch hung a caterpillar with four strange tentacle-like appendages protruding from its abdomen. I might never have noticed this small brown insect had it not been for its unusual movement: noises would cause it to fire its tentacles in randomized directions, then slowly twirl back into a spring-like "ready" position to await its next alarm. This reaction to noise was so peculiar that once my group joined me around the creature, we proceeded to take turns yelling at it and filming its contorting reactions for over an hour.

After a little research, I found that this caterpillar is in the moth family Geometridae and is in the genus Nematocampa. Also referred to as ‘horned-spanworms’ or ‘filament bearers’, these peculiar caterpillars can be found in North America and the Neotropics.

David Wagner, in his field guide ‘Caterpillars of Eastern North America,’ notes:

“It is difficult to imagine what the [Nematocampa] larva is mimicking, but the overall effect is not unlike a fallen brown flower with exerted stamens. Alarmed caterpillars shunt hemolymph into filaments, enlarging them by as much as twice their resting length.” [1]

What Wagner seems to be proposing is that the larva movement is similar to the way flowers or other plant matter move in the wind: the behavior more effectively blends the caterpillar into its surroundings.

Other potential purposes this behavior may serve include:

1. The tentacles extend when the caterpillar is alarmed so that an attacking predator (such as a bird) has a higher probability of snagging a tentacle, as opposed to the main body, so that the caterpillar may drop away and escape with its life (similar to how some lizards are able to lose their tails).

2. The setae, or "hairs," located at the tip of a long tentacle could be highly sensitive vibration detectors that are able to sense predacious birds or insects that make nearby sounds [2].

What do you think? Screaming at caterpillars doesn’t fall into most people’s job descriptions. But that’s exactly what I found myself doing a couple weeks ago in the Peruvian Amazon, all to bring the story of this bizarre organism to you! Leave a comment below and let us know how you feel about this peculiar caterpillar found in Tambopata, Peru.

-Aaron Pomerantz, Entomologist

You can follow me on Twitter @AaronPomerantz

Thanks to contributing footage by Steven Senisi of EdTechLens and Dr. Andrew Warren (@AndyBugGuy) for pointing out additional Nematocampa references.

Citations

[1] Wagner DL (2005) Caterpillars of Eastern North America. A Guide to Identification and Natural History. Princeton University Press, Princeton. 512 pp

[2] Sourakov A, Stubina M (2012) Scientific note: functional morphology of masquerading larva of Ceratonyx satanariawith notes on horned spanworm, Nematocampa resistaria (Geometridae: Ennominae). Tropical Lepidoptera Research.22:53-59

Additional Reading

Gerguson DC (1993) A revision of the species of Nematocampa (Geometridae: Ennominae) occurring in the United States and Canada. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 47:60-77

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