May 17 – First Full Day, CPE —> LCRS Travel Day, Caracol Visit, and Inaugural Hike
Hello! Today was yet another great day here in Belize. When we woke up, we were met with a lovely breakfast from the Crystal Paradise Ecolodge before we hopped in the van for a ride to the Caracol Maya Ruins. Caracol was one of their larger cities, with a 5 mile radius of the site, 35,000 structures, and an estimated population of 200,000! Visiting the site and seeing the ruins, along with the beautiful Cotton Trees (pictured below with large above-surface root systems called Buttress Roots) was so awesome!
In addition to the ruins of Caracol, we arrived at Las Cuevas Research Station (our home for the next week) and had our inaugural hike! This was a short hike along the Mayan Trail, where there was no shortage of diverse ants! I saw some stray ants on leaves and the ground, but the real excitement came early on: we saw army ants! They were marching along the path, and marching back the other direction with objects they to bring back to their bivouac, a temporary colony home (as opposed to a traditional ant colony) that is in place for only one reproductive cycle. After the cycle, the entire colony will move to a new place with new forage-ables. When we moved on, after a lull in ant-spotting, we came upon a Bull’s Horn Acacia tree. I know what you’re thinking: what does a tree matter to the ant man? Well, this tree has a secret (unless you disturb it, then it is not a secret.) The tree is protected by ants through a symbiotic relationship! The tree provides shelter in its hollow thorns to the colony, while also providing both carbohydrates and protein, making a full meal. The ants never have to leave! Their rent? Protection. If someone even messes with the tree, the ants will attack that individual (person, animal, rock maybe?) So, for just a 30 minute jaunt in the woods, there was a pretty great amount of ant-stuff to see!
Images:
Cotton Tree
Caracol Ruins
Bull’s Horn Acaciaarmy ants,
Maya Trail Sign
Army ants marching