Creatures In My Yard- Jungle Edition

Ecuador's biodiversity is exceptional. I found out that scientists had chosen a 6 square kilometer plot of land in Yasuni National Park in the jungle and catalogued the life they found. Among them were 500 bird species, 200 mammal species, and 47 amphibian and reptile species. There are more tree species in one hectare within Yasuni than in all of North America. This one park has more frogs and toad species than the US and Canada combined. More insects were found living in ONE tree than in all of the United States! 

When we arrived at the house that would be our home for five months, I was excited to see the prime habitat in and around our compound. I was able to identify 96 species of birds, loads of butterflies, moths, and insects of all kinds, even a couple tarantulas! This one was huge!

Our white house drew lots of creatures at night, so I'd always check our patio before going to bed. One night I was surprised to find a venomous South American Coral Snake on the patio! 

One day while birding at home, I was drawn to a certain area of vegetation by some butterflies. As I got closer and allowed my attention to focus on the smallest movements, I saw the area come alive. Multiple species of grasshoppers, butterflies, bees, beetles and other insects were all over a 3 ft area. It was amazing to see such diversity and life that almost always goes unnoticed. This was a turning point for me. From then, I gave my attention to all creatures when I was outside, not just birds.

I found myself really interested in caterpillars. There are so many different ones with incredible colors and patterns. I saw some type of caterpillar almost every time I went out looking, and I hardly ever saw the same kind twice. Many of the caterpillars in Ecuador have venomous spines or hairs on them so I never touched one.

 One Ecuadorian woman told me that if you do accidentally touch one of the caterpillars with stinging spines, the antidote is found within. She explained with her hands to break the caterpillar open and rub it on your skin. I was both shocked and impressed but left with additional questions, like, how do you grasp a venomous caterpillar to break it open without winding up with many more stings?

 Something is quite different about one of the caterpillars above. It appears to have tiny cocoons all over it. Those are actually parasitoid wasp cocoons. The wasp lays eggs in or on the host (caterpillar in this case), the larva hatches, feeds on the caterpillar then pupates in the tiny cocoons, until it later emerges an adult wasp. 

 One day I discovered this bizarre creature on a small tree outside my window, another caterpillar! This is a monkey slug caterpillar that will someday become a hag moth. They come in different colors and shapes. I found a second one that was orange in Mindo. I was shocked to learn monkey slug caterpillars can be found in the eastern US as well.  

So many varieties of butterfly and moth are found here, some as big as my face. We found the large moth below inside our house. The kids took it outside to release it and just then a Bat Falcon swooped thru the air and snatched it. I somehow managed to catch a photo just before the grab! The falcon carried the moth to a nearby light pole and my daughter watched in horror while our little friend was eaten. She cried for some time. The circle of life is sometimes difficult to witness, but it's just a part of the food chain.

Saddleback Tamarinds regularly jump thru the trees behind the house. These are tiny monkeys that easily hide when they hold still, but they are so fun to watch as they jump tree to tree.

Stick bugs were especially intriguing to us. It turns out that the yellow and red ones are both the same species. We found that out when Journey was holding one and I brought the other one near her. In a flash, mine jumped to hers and immediately began mating. Well, that was educational!

Choosing photos for this post has been quite difficult as I have no less than 1500 photos of insects, spiders and caterpillars just from our own backyard!

This is a composite photo showing two sides of the same insect. The white spots on its side make it look like a dead leaf with spots eaten out of it. The mirror image hearts on its neck are a neat touch.

A Black-Billed Thrush built her nest on our patio. We enjoyed watching the babies grow and fledge.

I won't share all 96 species of birds I found in our yard, but I will show you a few favorites. Tanagers are typically brightly colored birds.

Blue-Necked Tanager, Blue-Gray Tanager, Bay-Headed Tanager above. 

Below are the Magpie Tanager (google his song) and a Palm Tanager.

The Crimson-Crested Woodpecker above and Lineated Woodpecker below and peeking from the nest are all about 13 inches tall. Very large birds.

Lafresnaye's Piculet above, female Orange-bellied Euphonia below

 Lined Antshrike above, Smooth-billed Ani below

 Squirrel Cuckoo above, Masked Tityra below

A black-eared opossum met his demise in our front yard, and soon a wake of black vultures arrived, nature's clean-up crew.

Below is a collection of various plants I discovered in our yard.