Today we were visited by the ghost of forest future. An inconspicuous treefrog in leaf-colored camouflage, transformed into a flamboyant supermodel when dropped into the midst of these gerbera daisies acquired several days ago from a street vendor in Puerto Viejo. He bears the emblem of one of the most sensitive groups of benign forest monsters. Amphibians, rulers of the night time leafscape.

Amphibian diversity here soars. Sporting colors and costumes that would turn any 1980's pop star green with envy, tree frogs populate the tight fabric of understory leaves and branches. Active mostly by night, members of this guild feast primarily on an abundant array of spider and insect entrees. They might have to work a little to pick up the next meal, but the menu selection is to die for.

I can hear them calling to eachother from perches on filmy, web-laden ladders of twigs and leaf blades. Their wails and chirps and low, steady drumbeats echo in my head. They will mate and let their eggs drop into pools of water on the forest floor. Their tadpoles will grow, morphing into perfect new bug-eating supermodels with a round the clock schedule, prowling the forest by night and fascinating biology students by day.