What are Mexican beans jumping?
Mexican jump beans are seeds that have been colonized by the moth larvae. The larvae move inside the seeds, causing it to fit or throw, even if they rarely literally jump. Seeds have long been sold as news in Mexico, where they are called brincadores and their popularity has spread to other parts of the world when travelers brought them home. Although Mexican jump beans are certainly fun, they also illustrate a very interesting relationship between plants and insects and is only one of many such relationships in the natural world. These plants have dark green leather leaves that become rich red in winter and are originally from Mexico and parts of the American Southwest. In the spring, when Sebastiana plants flower, lays a small gray moth in some flowers, and when the flowers develop on the seeds, the eggs are trapped inside. It also spins a range of fibers and creates a complex internal web inside the seed. For unknown reasons, the larvae move inside the seeds and cause them to move. TheThis can support the larvae scattering across a wide area and seem to be stimulated by the heat exposure.
As the larva grows inside the seed, it eventually turns into a moth and drills a small deck into the seed to escape. As soon as they appear, the moth has only a few days for life; Generally looking for a friend, so the life cycle Laspeyresia saltitans can begin again. Fortunately for host plants, moths do not colonize all seeds on a shrub to ensure that plants can be able to keep themselves, and thus provide future houses for moths.
The seeds are more like small beans, which explains the name. Watching Mexican jump beans can be quite interesting because the seeds will rattle against each other and shake from shallow containers if they have the opportunity. Mexican beans jumping will continue to move after weeks or months if they can take care of it even if they can experiencet of dormant periods. Because the moths colonize only plants in the family Sebastiana , the cycle will stop if young moths do not have access to the right hosts after they appear.