What Are Mexican Jumping Beans?

It is a incredible phenomenon that is widely renowned in the whole of Mexico country. It is most notably used as a tool for comic relief, an common gag in comical history from the nineties, where eating these beans would cause the main character to react violently and cause his entire body to move out of control and land on painful things. These beans are actually just a seed pod where the larva (first stage) of the tiny moth had bitten through it. The larva that is inside the seed had eaten through the inner surfaces of the bean, making some short of empty space, thus attaching itself by numerous silky threads to the bean surface. The larvae may live inside the bean for numerous amount of months, or a few years depending on the external environment and conditions, like thew moisture and weather temperature of the surrounding area until its pupal age. After a few weeks, it will crawl out of the pupal casing but will only live for a few days before dying. The reason why the beans "jump" so as to survive and protect themselves from the scorching heat, just as a "protective measure", causing them to dry out eventually. In modern society, these beans are widely sold as souvenirs to tourists in Mexico, even becoming a idea for a science project fair or classroom experiments.

Mexican jumping beans are found only in a small area of Mexico, where a Mexican jumping bean is known as a brincador - or "hopper".  In the spring, the female jumping bean moth lays eggs on the blooming flowers of the (Sebastiana Pavoniana) trees.  Several weeks later the eggs hatch, and the very small worm insect eats into the small pod or "bean" of the host flower.  The pod or "bean" slowly hardens and the moth larva which is now living inside begins to feed on the interior of the pod.  When the spring rains come, the pod or "bean" will fall to the ground and the pods that have a moth larva living inside will begin to jump and bounce around on the ground.  Jumping beans "jump" as a way of surviving. This enables them to bounce to a cooler place to avoid the heat and the sun.  Eventually, after several months, the larva will begin to spin a cocoon inside the pod.  After this stage, metamorphosis will occur, and a jumping bean moth will emerge from the pod through a small hole.

Courtesy of www.amazingbeans.com