Chien C. Lee

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  • Under the cover of darkness, a cicada sheds its nymphal skin to emerge as a fully grown adult.  Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Black Rose (Pachliopta antiphus), female freshly emerged from chrysalis before taking flight. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • World within: the watery chamber of a carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes ampullaria) hosts a myriad of tiny specialized creatures. An amplexing pair of the Matang Narrow-mouthed Frog (Microhyla nepenthicola), one of the world’s smallest amphibians, has visited the plant to deposit their eggs – they will breed nowhere else. They are flanked by a developing tadpole and the pupa of a predatory Elephant Mosquito (Toxorhynchites sp.). The plant benefits from everything entering the pitcher: detritus falling from the canopy above, insect prey that are drowned inside, or small visiting organisms like these that may help to break down the contents and leave their waste behind. Kubah National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Newly emerged cicada perched on its exuvia. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • A male Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) allows its wings to expand and harden after emerging from its cocoon.  It will now live only long enough to find a mate. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • A male Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) allows its wings to expand and harden after emerging from its cocoon.  It will now live only long enough to find a mate. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • The enormous caterpillars of the Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) consume huge amounts of leaves before they will pupate. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • Like an ancient carven sculpture, the incredible buttress roots of this huge rainforest tree (Tachigali panamensis) belie its fleeting nature. Sometime called the ‘Suicide Tree’, it is truly monocarpic: after reaching maturity it will flower and set fruit only once and then die. Although monocarpy is a common adaptation among small herbaceous plants in seasonal habitats, it is extremely rare among large tropical trees, especially since rainforests are generally quite stable environments. This strategy may have evolved because it provides several possible advantages for the tree’s seedlings. For one, the infrequency of fruiting means that fewer seed predators can specialize on this species. Also, as the mother tree withers and eventually falls over, it creates an open gap in the forest canopy which is vital for the development of its young saplings underneath. Colón, Panama.
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  • After several months of feeding on Aristolochia leaves, the mature caterpillar of this large birdwing butterfly (Troides andromache) prepares for its final moult into the pupal stage when metamorphosis will transform it into an adult. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
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  • A recently-germinated Dipterocarp tree seedling (Shorea sp.) reaches for the sunlight on the Bornean rainforest floor.
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  • Looking like a bunch of trilobite sarcophagi, a cluster of tortoise beetle pupae remain huddled together as they wait to pupate into adults. Although blind, immobile and otherwise defenseless in this stage, each pupa is capable of flexing its body up and down when disturbed, and the combined motion of the entire group may serve to befuddle a potential predator or parasite. Sumaco Napo-Galeras National Park, Napo, Ecuador.
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  • As if fashioned from liquid gold, a nearly mature Nymphalid butterfly chrysalis (Euploea sp.) hangs from the underside of a ginger leaf. Highland Papua, Indonesia (New Guinea).
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  • Under the protective concealment of night, this raspy cricket (family Gryllacrididae) sheds its final skin, slowly and delicately pulling its long antennae from their old sheath. Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar.
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  • “Parasitoids” are defined as different from “parasites” in that they ultimately kill their host, and among the most nefarious of these are those that are able to manipulate the behavior of their host, keeping them alive only until they no longer need them. This unfortunate katydid is in the process of having a horsehair worm (Nematomorpha) vacate its body. Although the katydid is still alive, the worm has slowly devoured most of its internal organs while growing inside to many times the length of its host’s body. Even when fully developed, the worm keeps from killing the insect because it uses it for transport – somehow compelling the katydid to seek out a source of water where the worm can finally complete its life cycle. Yasuní National Park, Ecuador.
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  • Seemingly oblivious to its own potential demise, an ornamental moth caterpillar (Rhuda sp.) carries on about its daily business while a tiny parasitoid Chalcidid wasp (Conura sp.) rides piggyback. These wasps are among a multitude of related species which utilize caterpillars (and their pupae) as living hosts for their brood. After depositing its eggs, the wasp’s larvae develop within the caterpillar’s body, carefully consuming its non-vital organs until they are ready to emerge. In this way, the caterpillar will be kept alive just long enough to insure the wasp larvae are able to complete their life cycle. Soberanía National Park, Panama.
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