9781422277034

dams, and colonization projects. In the ten years between 2004 and 2014, more than half of Papua New Guinea’s jungles were destroyed for similar reasons. The Congo jungles of Central Africa have also been the victim of urban expansion, industrial logging, mining, commercial hunting, and more; but its destruction has slowed in the twenty-first century. What many people don’t realize is that jungles produce about 40% of our world’s oxygen, and are the homes for more than half of all known species, including unique and interesting plants, arachnids, and insects, From spiders and scorpions to rubber and raffia trees, the jungle is still teeming with thousands of species that are running out of room more and more each day. This book will examine many of these insect, arachnid and plant species and their unique characteristics. Education and awareness continues to grow around the importance of protecting jungle habitats to preserve the existence of these unique life forms that make the rainforest their home.

Introduction 9