When I explore the rain forest, I become a little kid in a candy store. The astonishing biodiversity found in rain forest is to me "mind candy". This tiny object (photographed with a dissecting microscope) was my mind candy one day. What could it be? Answering that question is one of my favourite pastimes. Eventually I figured it out. It's a fecal shield! Made by a tiny beetle larva to protect itself, the beetle uses its own feces to construct this object it then carries around on its back. Eventually it pupates inside the basket-like base. Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador (family Chrysomelidae: genus "Spathiella").
A beautiful juvenile whipsnake. It will change colour as it matures ("Chironius scurrulus"). At Shiripuno Lodge, Ecuador.
When the water recedes during the dry season masses of tangled vegetation become exposed on riverbanks, creating living sculptures. A jacamar can be seen perched near the centre of the photo. August, Pacaya Samiria Reserve, Peru. "Mono" filter used.
