136 IN THE GUIANA FOREST. 



devastation all around, perhaps leaving the tree 

 almost bare. But this is little more than a rough 

 pruning, which causes it to flower all the more 

 freely and produce a greater supply of nectar for 

 the perfect insect. 



Advancing another step we see that the seed 

 produced through the medium of the butterfly 

 attracts birds and monkeys in the day, with bats 

 above and rodents beneath at night, those above 

 playing havoc among the branches, quarrelling and 

 fighting with each other for the fruit and dropping 

 them by thousands to feed the nocturnal prowlers. 

 Finding the tree so convenient the birds pair, build 

 their nests and bring up their young upon it. Now 

 for another aspect : the host of caterpillars bring a 

 crowd of insectivorous birds, which also make 

 themselves at home in the midst of such a grand 

 feast. These are accompanied by a host of flies 

 which have scented their prey from afar, and now 

 come to help carry on the work of preventing the 

 larvae from going too far ; and, because the flies are 

 there, the goatsucker comes hovering round at night. 

 Unlike the birds, however, the flies do not kill out- 

 right, but, as it were, take possession of them for 

 the benefit of their offspring. Piercing the skin of 

 a larva they deposit their eggs underneath, so that 

 when they hatch the young have free range of their 



