Bats are considered nature's best bug control. Trees depend on them to spread their seeds. Night blooming flowers depend on bats for pollination. Besides night insects, bats eat fish, frogs, fruit, nectar, and blood from other mammals. Insect-eating bats use echolocation to find and catch food.

This species, found on a cement memorial at the side of the road, measured about 9 mm (3½ in.) in length.

Butterflies are insects. By definition, all insects possess six legs and three body segments: head, thorax and abdomen. In both of the active stages of a butterfly's life cycle, the larvae and adult, these traits can be observed. Butterflies have a complex life cycle consisting of four different stages, each with completely different appearances and durations of time.

This colorful specimen was found drinking dew from the cement basketball court in El Terrero.

Dragonflies and damselflies can mate in flight.

The bite of a Gila monster won’t kill you, but will make you wish you were dead! It is very painful. Don't pet this guy unless you know what you're doing!

Unlike their terrestrial relatives, most tree frogs have expanded disks at the tips of the toes that enable them to cling tightly to vertical surfaces.

Butterflies are some of nature's most exquisite and fascinating creatures. However, loss of habitat and wide use of pesticides has resulted in far fewer butterflies in recent years. Fortunately, this is not so in the Biosphere Reserve.

In its adult form, the butterfly's diet changes. Now it feeds on the sweet nectar of flowers for the energy it needs to live and fly. Soon it will seek the plants it ate as a caterpillar, to lay eggs and complete its life cycle.

Many butterflies have predator-fooling eyespots, such as the species to the right.

Exploitation of black (and green) iguanas for food began in ancient times and has continued for hundreds of years.

Black iguanas efficiently convert vegetation into high-grade protein suitable for human consumption. They are smaller and more stocky than green iguanas and can weigh up to 3 kilos.

The common name comes from the manner in which they hold up the forepart of the body, with its enormous front legs, as though in an attitude of prayer. They are carnivorous, eating other insects. The body is elongate with the front legs modified into prominent grasping organs that catch and hold prey. The wings are well developed, but mantids commonly remain quiet in one place until another insect comes into reach.

Their prey consists mainly of birds and small mammals, such as rats. Boas seize their prey in their jaws, then entwine it in their powerful body coils and kill it by suffocation. Boas still have vestiges of a pair of hind limbs. They lay shelled eggs and are one of the most beautifully colored reptiles. 

Most people think that spiders are dangerous creatures that should be wiped away with a cloth, sucked up in the vacuum cleaner or smashed with a newspaper. That isn't wise because spiders play a very important role in our Eco-system. They catch many annoying and harmful insects and are therefore very useful creatures.

Most spiders use venom to kill their prey. This venom is almost always harmless to humans. This specimen was an iridescent purple.

Most Owls are active at dusk and dawn, spending the daytime at a quiet, inconspicuous roost. They generally roost singly or in pairs, but may form flocks outside of the breeding season.

An Owl's daily activity begins with preening, stretching, yawning and combing its head with its claws. The plumage is often ruffled up, and claws and toes are cleaned by nibbling with the beak. The Owl will then leave its roost, sometimes giving a call (especially in breeding season).

When relaxed, the plumage is loose and fluffy. If an owl becomes alarmed, it will become slim, its feathers pulled in tightly to the body, and ear-tufts, if any, will stand straight up.