ABSTRACT
Many insects find suitable water bodies in which to lay their eggs in holes in the trunks of trees. The importance of aquatic habitats may be considerably underestimated in the large rainforests of South America, Africa, and parts of Indonesia. In Venezuelan national parks, the relationship between the phytotelmata and the mosquitoes that develop in them was shown by parsimony analysis. Holes in tree trunks located high in rainforest trees are usually relatively rich in detritus, which can yield enough organic nutrient material to promote the growth of microbiota. In tropical rainforests, such habitats are frequently encountered in epiphytic plants. The shape of the stems and leaves assure that water will have places to collect, and these assemblages of water are sheltered enough by parts of the plants to delay evaporation. An interesting field of research focuses on the relationships between the plants holding the trapped rainwater and the insects inhabiting that water.
