Grasshoppers and other critters in a Peruvian Amazon field
October 01, 2013
by Campbell Plowden
Our mission for the day was to check on the status of rosewood seedlings planted in the fields of four families in the Bora village of Brillo Nuevo. We taught one group of four young men to use digital cameras to take photos of the other team measuring the seedlings. When we had enough shots of the basic tasks, we turned our lenses to capture images of critters hopping or flying about the leaves. These included multi-colored grasshoppers (even one with a sort of pointy horn on his head), wasps, assassin bugs, a butterfly, dragonfly, and tiny frog.
Thank you for providing tentative identification of any of these insects or frog as a comment. Learn more about or donate to this project at: www.AmazonAlive.net
Green grasshopper on leaf at Brillo Nuevo, Peru. Photo by Campbell Plowden/Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Green horned grasshopper on leaf at Brillo Nuevo, Peru. Photo by Campbell Plowden/Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Red spotted grasshopper at Brillo Nuevo, Peru. Photo by Campbell Plowden/Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Yellow and green grasshopper at Brillo Nuevo, Peru. Photo by Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Yellow and green beetle at Brillo Nuevo. Photo by Campbell Plowden/Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Assassin bug on copal tree at Brillo Nuevo. Photo by Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Wasps on nest under branch at Brillo Nuevo. Photo by Campbell Plowden/Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Brown butterfly on hand with rings at Brillo Nuevo. Photo by Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Red dragonfly on leaf at Brillo Nuevo. Photo by Campbell Plowden/Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Locust shell on legume tree leaf at Brillo Nuevo. Photo by Campbell Plowden/Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Green frog on leaf at Brillo Nuevo. Photo by Campbell Plowden/Center for Amazon Community Ecology
Grasshopper in hand at Brillo Nuevo, Peru. Photo by Center for Amazon Community Ecology
"While concepts like punctuality, mutual respect, no put downs of self or others, and listening when someone else is speaking may seem like obvious guidelines to form a positive community, a commitment to actually practice and hold each other accountable to observe these agreements is profound in a culture where showing up late, malicious gossip, and interrupting a speaker are painfully common."
"Artisan facilitators should of course share what they know, but beginning and experienced artisans all benefit by remaining humble, enthusiastic about learning, and committed to encourage and affirm their fellow artisans. So many artisans said that the thing they most wanted to bring back to their communities was this spirit of working in a mutually supportive environment."
"Both men and women wore garb made with bleached llanchama tree bark painted with graphic figures from Bora clans. Several wore headdresses made with the feathers from macaws and parrots. They discussed the importance of nature and craft-making in their culture and then launched into a lively dance where the men chanted and pounded sticks into the ground to the rhythm of moving around in a circle. Visitors joined the undulating lines to share the vibrant energy."