I have just returned from spending a while in the forests of west Sumatra. Here are a few photographs of some of the amazing bio-diversity of life within the jungle.
I found all manner of strange and bazaar life forms, some of which maybe unknown to science.
This is a bug, large and beautiful.
This is a spider mimicking a frog.
A small ground frog, one of many species to be found within a very small area.The night time was a cacophony of sound from up to a dozen frog species along with many cricket and cicada species.
A serpent eagle awaits a meal on an orchid encrusted tree trunk. These birds are common throughout the tropical and subtropical old world.
A male glow worm rests in the day before its spectacular nightly display.At times four different species of glow worms and fire flies were lighting up the jungle like little fairies.
A strange Planarium or flatworm appears after heavy rains and climbs a tree. There are many species of these predatory animals. They are very primitive and some species have naturalized many other parts of the world where they feed on earthworms and other small animals. I found two species within the wet rain forest.
A golden male stag beetle rests upon a banana leaf. The natural decomposition of huge numbers of trees means that many wood eating beetles abound. The larvae eat the rotting wood and may take a long time to develop.
