Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
is less harmful but quite large, about 1 in (25 mm) long. It nests in rotting trunks of
fallen trees, and at night, travels high into the canopy to forage on honeydew,
which accounts for about 90 percent of their diet.
Many bees, wasps, and hornets live in the forest, nesting high in the trees as
well as low in the shrubs and bushes of the lower canopy. Social bees play a major
role in the pollination of many dipterocarps in Southeast Asia. Larger carpenter
bees also play a role in pollination. Bees in the Asian-Pacific rainforest must be able
to adapt to long intervals between the massive flowering events of the dipterocarps.
That may be why fewer bees are found there than in the Neotropics.
The Asian-Pacific rainforest is alive with the loud, sometimes screaming
sounds of cicadas. Cicadas are sap-sucking insects. They are often difficult to see,
but around dusk, their presence is certainly made known. The males call to attract
females and the loud disharmonic chorus is hard to miss. Cicadas are the loudest
insect in the rainforest.
Beetles are incredibly common and diverse within the rainforest. Some are spe-
cific to a given island, while others are found throughout the region. Jewel beetles
are metallic green. Click beetles seem to throw themselves into the air to distract
predators. Dung beetles are great decomposers of animal waste. Male rhinoceros
beetles have elaborate horns used to fight other males and to acquire females. Two-
horned and three-horned rhinoceros beetles occur in the Asian rainforest. Long-
horn beetles have extremely long antennae. They lay their eggs in trees where the
larvae bore a labyrinth of tunnels through the tree for several years until they
emerge as adults. Weevils and fireflies are the abundant beetles in the forest.
Other Invertebrates.
Spiders in the Asian-Pacific rainforests include classic web
weavers, trap-door spiders, and those that sit and wait to ambush an unsuspecting
victim. Orb web spiders build elaborate golden webs between trees or shrubs to
catch large insects. To do so, the web must be very strong. In fact, the silk of the
Nephila spider is the strongest there is, with a tensile strength twice that of steel.
Very large tarantulas, such as the bird-eating spider that waits in a hole or crevice
to ambush large insects, also find a home in the rainforest.
Scorpions are active hunters at night and spend their days under stones and
bark or in rotting wood. They attack large insects. The Asian forest scorpion is
among the world's largest, with a body and tail length of 6 in (152 mm). Whip scor-
pions are related to scorpions and spiders. They do not possess a stinger like true
scorpions, but they produce an acidic mixture (mostly acetic acid) that they will
discharge from their back end when disturbed or threatened by small rodents or
other potential predators. Whip scorpions feed on worms, slugs, and other
arthropods.
Centipedes and millipedes are both common forest creatures. Centipedes are
nocturnal predators that feed on other invertebrates. They have powerful jaws that
inflict a painful bite. They also use poison to subdue their prey. Millipedes are gen-
erally active during the day and feed on soft decomposing plant matter. Some
