 |
| This pattern is caused by insects feeding on the leaf |
If you take a look at these 2 leaf photos, you can see that there have been some hungry critters (mostly insects) in the rainforest. You can tell what type of insect chewed on leaves by the pattern that you see. For example, the semi-circular chunks at the edges (margins) of the leaves in one photo are made by leaf-cutter ants.
 |
| Leafcutter ants have been eating this leaf |
They have giant mandibles (jaws) that they use like scissors to cut off a large chunk of the leaf, then they carry the leaf back to their nest (see photo) where it will be used to help cultivate a fungus garden in the nest.
 |
| Carrying a piece of the leaf |
The fungus is needed to feed the ant larvae (babies). Many plants produce toxins to make their leaves less enticing for vegetarian (herbivorous) insects.
- Fran Zakutansky
No comments:
Post a Comment