h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Educational Information -- Mexican Jumping Beans (Laspeyresia Saltitans)

Mexican Jumping Beans Are Found Only In A Few Small Areas Of Mexico, Where A 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) Tree. 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 Go Dormant And Start 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. Amazing!

You can buy Mexican jumping beans at http://www.amazingbeans.com

They are a wholesale and retail supplier of Mexican jumping beans and send them out in clear hinged plastic containers so you can release them and hold them in your hand and race them. The warmth from your hand causes them to jump!