All pictures credit – Bart Bouricius
Earlier this year I posted a story about ants in the Devil’s Garden, which drew a little interest. One of the commenters was Bart Bouricius, who has spent several years working in the western Amazon. Bart has seen those orchards of Duroia hirsuta, and has sent along some pictures he took there. He also passed along some knowledge about a local forest god, Chullachaki, who disciplines people who misuse the forest. Bart describes the feeling of finding one of these sites as strange; looking cultivated, but with no trails or other human sign. You can see his original comments under the original story.
Here are the pictures, some showing the domatia, where the ants make their home.
“Partly it feels strange because of the context of finding such a place in a remote mature forest with no trails going to it.” – Bart Bouricius
You can tap for a slide show of larger images.
rjb
