We often focus on large animals in this update. Today, I want to take some time to recognize some of the smaller creatures! As a group, the insects of the Amazon are among the most spectacular and diverse of all life forms.

Some of the neatest types of insects we encounter on a daily basis are ants. They are among the most numerous insects in the rainforest. We have seen bullet ants, leafcutter ants, fire ants, army ants and many, many more!

An especially cool one is the leafcutter ant. A full size leafcutter ant colony may consist of 3 to 4 million workers. One mother queen ant will produce more than 20 million offspring during her lifetime. They live in communities where work is divided up based on size. The soldier ant, responsible for defense of the colony, is the largest, some up to 300 times heavier than the forager ant, who is next biggest.

The foragers are commonly seen traveling rapidly in columns of 10,000 or more, as they carry out the task of slicing and transporting pieces of leaves and petals. Though a troop of foraging ants may be a rather common, mundane sight, if we magnify the scene to human scale and take a closer look, we find a group of rather amazing creatures. Imagine a quarter-inch ant as six feet long. It would run along the trail for some ten miles at a speed of 16 miles per hour. This now six foot ant would pick up a burden of 750 pounds and speed back towards the nest at 15 miles per hour! This marathon feat is repeated over and over throughout the day and night!

We have had to be careful of ants when exploring the jungle because some of the ants pack a mean bite. While some can cause an itchy rash, others can be quite painful. Overall though, the ants have not been an issue and we have been impressed by the abundance of these animals in the rainforest.

-Jesse

(Some information from "Amazon: Jungles of Peru." International Expeditions, Inc.)