Swinging Nede

Moving from the beach and into the jungle, the stingerpede became larger and changed color for camouflage in the vast pambu forest. Its tail has evolved into a very flexible ‘arm’ used to grasp the pambu. With its new tail-arm and elongated legs, it swings from stalk to stalk, searching for food. For food, it eats any of the purple worm species in the forest, from the butcher and antlered worms to the emperor wingworm. It uses its claws to grasp the worm, punctures its hard shell with its mouth parts, and sucks out the insides with a long tongue. It then discards the shells. When breeding, one gender of the nede lays spores encapsulated in jelly in a pool of water. The other gender then inserts the equivalent of sperm, causing the spore to start to form into a young nede. These young nedes stay in the water until they are strong enough to swing through the pambu. They find their prey through vibrations caused by the worms' feeding.