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Above: a ground-dwelling tarantula. Second pic: a tree-dwelling tarantula, along with a picture of his home. This tree (third pic), smothered in webs, must have housed hundreds of his kin. Fourth pic: these nasty-&%*# wasps build their nests on flimsy plants at ground level. Anyone walking off the beaten path has to be very careful not to disturb a nest because they will viciously attack. In Bolivia my guide shook a nest in passing; luckily I was able to clear the area with only one sting. These herculean insects have machine-gun stingers. Three fingers of my (gloved) hand went numb for a few minutes. Caught in a swarm situation out here would be incredibly painful. Fifth pic: a swarm of ants around a fallen tree. The largest ant swarm I saw was in Bolivia. We were huffing through the forest when I looked down and saw the entire area moving underneath our feet. The guide, Silverio, did not instantly notice. I yelled out "hormigas!" We ran full-out before they had a chance to scale our legs in numbers. What I saw of the swarm where we crossed was at least five to six meters wide, how long it stretched I do not know. Last pic: a very cool plant. Amazon Rainforest, Peru |
