A good morning jungle trailing

Wild Ixora
Location : Provinsi Licuala, Zone I

Climber with maroon red young leaves

Located at  an elevation of  between 150  - 300 feet  above sea level, the jungle back door is a gem of a tropical rainforest ecosystem.  This morning,  I decided to explore further the Licuala Provinsi area which is named after the many stands of Licuala palms in the locality. It is one of the highest point in the park with steep slopes and many small hills surrounding it  making trekking a difficult and exhaustive  workout.  The forest is originally  a lowland dipterocarp hill forest ( in latin Di = two, ptero = winged, carp = fruit) .  Here can be seen many exportable jungle trees e.g. 'meranti' and 'kapur'.  The Kambatik jungle here supports a very diverse range of plantlife as well as wildlife because of the niches accorded by the jungle ecosystem.  I have therefore the opportunity to watch a unique climber (unidentified) which have strong stems and producing maroon red young leaves. Within the Provinsi Licuala I stumbled upon a wild Ixora plant with orange flowers.  My exploration this morning was well rewarded with the sighting of a big clump of Pandan 'palms' growing along a small stream.   This pandanus variety is sought after by the local Melanaus as the natural material for making mats and other types of handicraft items.  Other interesting encounters this morning was the fiddlehead of the 'Paku Kelindang' (Iban) - Blenchnum orientale and a green stick insect.

Licuala palms along the jungle path
Location : Provinsi Licuala

Maroon red young leaves of a jungle climber.

Jungle climber spiral up a tree

A green stick insect

Pandanus 'palms' situated along a stream
Location : Provinsi Licuala, Zone I

Fern fiddlehead, belonging to the Blenchnum orientale (Paku Kelindang - Iban)

Lovely and large white-striped moth

Swallow-tailed Moth (Lyssa zampa)
Location : Zone C

White stripe runs across upper and
lower wings

 It has been a few days now that the Swallow-tailed moths are seen flying in broad daylight.  Though it is mainly a nocturnal species, it is still possible to observe it flying about the park in daytime thus giving me opportunities to chase it in order to get closer for photography purpose.  Today, I managed to get close enough to this lovely and quite large 'day flying' moth.  It came out from the jungle at the edge of the Kruak wetlands at Zone C.  Some people reason that due to lack of predators such as birds which usually eat the caterpillars and also the inactivity of its other  natural enemies like parasites and pathogens they have better chance to thrive especially during the months of May to August in Sarawak.  Even though the moth is not that colourful it is unique for its large size, white stripes and enlongated tails tipped in white.

The jungle edge close to Kruak wetlands.

Checking out the rattan canes

Rattan harvested and coiled up.
Provinsi Rattan, Zone I

A small stream in the Rattan territory
area.

 The clear water in the stream that flows through the Provinsi Rattan makes me feel consoled.  I often check the 'rattan territory' area for any disturbances.  Today, I'm pleased to see the area where many species of rattan thrive is largely intact.  I could hear different bird calls and most interesting was to know the presence of the Rufous-backed Kingfisher which I saw speeding through the tree trunks and branches but too fast for me to photograph.  Rattans are climbing palms which have many economic, cultural and entertainment uses among the Melanaus of Bintulu.  It is for this reason that the Melanaus have over generations maintain the jungle in their possession undisturbed as a source of rattan material and other plants and jungle products having  medicinal value.  In comparison, the Ibans of Sarawak are more destructive of the forest because of their practice of completely burning the forest (slash and burn method)  for the purpose of planting hill padi. Rattans need tall trees around them by which they grow upwards with the aid of thorns or whip-like thorn-bearing leaf-tips that are a constant menace if you are to walk through the rattan territory. Some rattan fruits are edible and can be bought at the Bintulu 'tamu' or jungle produce market.

Licuala palm species found in the Rattan area

A jungle  fungi species on the forest floor at the rattan area.

A Myrmecodia epihpyte

A Myrmecodia epiphyte with large tuber housing tiny ants
Location : Licuala Hill

Large tuber of the Myrmecodia epiphyte

 I was making a new trail at Zone I yesterday when I stumbled upon an epiphyte and as the name implies it was above me. This epiphyte belongs to the 'Myrmecophytes' family which is unique in its ability to accommodate ants in their big tubers. The epihphyte was about four meters above me growing on the tree with its roots built more for grasping the tree trunk than for taking in nourishment from the soil. There are many epiphytic plants in here such as orchids and ferns which occupy a niche in the forest not used by other plants.

The big tubers are normally colonised by ants. Ants and termites are important soil animals involved in the litter decomposition and nutrients recycling.  The tiny ants will scour the forest floor for insects corpses at night.  These they carry on their backs to their arboreal nest.  The dead insects are stored and used as compost by the ants to create their 'fungus garden' which they cultivate within the tuber.  The ants feed on the fungi while the epihphyte uses the nutrients released by the fungal growth.
  

Ants and termites will scour the forest floor at night for dead insects to bring home to their arboreal nest.