Treehopper Talk

I came across this podcast recently and it blew my mind. It isn't breaking news, in fact, it was first posted on NPR's website in 2006. It also has nothing to do –at least directly– with nature photography. However, after hearing it for the first time a couple of weeks ago I had to share it with you all. As it turns out, there is a researcher named Rex Cocroft who, with the backing of National Geographic, has been (at least in 06) studying insect communication within the Ecuadorian rain forest. Cocroft discovered that there is a lot more communication going on between insects than just the droning, buzzing sounds that most of us are familiar with. In fact, some species are having entire conversations all throughout the day and they sometimes even have to do with...us. I've listened to the podcast several times and it still fascinates me.

I think for the macro photographer, this is just one more validation of why this branch of nature photography is so important; there are simply way too many things about the 'smaller majority' –as Piotr Naskrecki puts it– that we simply don't know about that's worth discovering and documenting. Anyway, take a minute and listen and let me know what you think. There is also a part two, or follow-up to the podcast here. (The image on this post is (c) Rex Cocroft).