------Program code: NS-080901-01670 (what's this?)
Source: CCTV.com
09-01-2008 10:11
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A crab is waving its pincers at a centipede to warn it off its territory. Confronted by the sharp pincers and hard shell, the centipede has no choice, but to leave.
The red tree ants also profit from the mating flight of the termites.
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Among the several hundred thousand termites attending the mating party, only a few will find satisfaction. Most will die of exhaustion. But the few lucky ones are capable of producing millions of termites in one or two months. In Nature, many species have to resort to quantity in order to survive.
On the tree, the fruit are about to mature. They attract the Hainan giant squirrels. The Hainan giant squirrels are 40 cm long. In order to keep their balance, their tails are twice the length of their bodies.
After eating the fruit, the giant squirrels drop the cores on the ground. This unintentional act helps the tree to spread its seeds.
At the top of the tree, the green plum seeds have turned pale, and are ready for release. In the seeding season a parent tree will spread tens of thousands of seeds.
The stream carries the seeds of the green plum on a new journey. A journey of life starts here.
The rainforest is a place where living organisms are in competition. Numerous plants are sharing the same living space. Along the stream, the land is dominated by ferns.
On the wet ground in the rainy season, the fungi grow fast.
Just above the fungi, the leaves of the palmaceous plants grow densely.
eneath the tree branches, climbing and twisting vines grow among the plants. There are numerous species of epiphytic plants, and they grow in abundance. The layers of greenery allow little sunshine to reach the ground. In a rainforest, the plants have limited living space. But they need light from the sun and nutrition from the soil, and so a fierce but silent competition goes on among them.
A green plum seed drifts on the stream. In a suitable place, it will sprout in several days’ time. But after two weeks, a seed will lose its chance to grow.
A green plum seed is deposited on the river bank. There is water and sunlight here. All the seed now needs in order to sprout, is to release the energy the mother tree has given it. Not far from the seed, a tree is lying. It was blown down during the last typhoon. Before long, fungi will grow on it. Then it will be covered with moss, and will gradually disintegrate and return to the soil. In the forest, most of the nutrition comes from dry leaves. The leaves break down in the soil and the nutrition is absorbed once again by the roots, which in turn promotes the growth of new plants.
A few days later, the tender sprout of the green plum penetrates the ground. In the sunshine, it grows quickly upwards towards the sky. Soon, on the sprout the first pair of leaves will appear, capable of conducting photosynthesis. The young green plum faces a long battle to obtain more sunlight and rain.
The afternoon is the time for recreation in the rainforest.
The fruit of the Dillenia mature and fall. The seed is wrapped in a sweet berry, juicy and delicious.
Not far away a wasp smells the sweetness of the fruit and flies over.
The wasp sucks greedily on the juice splashed on the trunk. It has no idea that it has entered the territory of the red tree ants. Some of the ants find the trespasser and send a warning signal to their companions.
The ant reinforcements arrive in a hurry. They open their jaws, ready for battle.
The wasps are among the fiercest residents of the rainforest. Unlike bees, their poison antennae are straight and can be used continuously as a weapon to attack. Their mandibula are also a powerful weapon.
In comparison with the giant trespasser, the red tree ants protecting their home seem tiny. But the ants aren’t afraid of any enemy, however powerful.
Without hesitation, the vanguard of the red tree ant colony launches its attack. They try to seize the wasp with their mandibula. As soon as there is a wound on its body, they will spray formic acid on it to poison the enemy.
Editor:Yang
