1What if you spent most of your life in mere darkness,
2surrounded by the same walls, eating the same food, all alone?
3That's life inside a Mexican jumping bean...
4and that's just how these creatures like it.
5They're the same jumping beans you find in markets all over Mexico and exported worldwide.
6But they're not something you'd want to eat.
7They aren't beans at all.
8They're seeds of this scraggly shrub.
9It primarily grows in Mexico, in the mountains of the Sonoran Desert.
10There are three of them that make up this fruit.
11Some of these sections have a stow-away -
12a tiny moth larva that burrowed into the seed while it was still on the plant.
13The larva devours the inside of the seed, hollowing out its new pad to make room for its growing body.
14Over the next 8 to 10 months our squirmy friend lines the walls with a comfy layer of silk.
15Just enough air and moisture sneak in through tiny holes in the seed walls.
16It's a cozy life.
17Except for the sweltering desert sun.
18That heat can dry out and kill our sweet little larva.
19So, of course, it starts jumping.
20A few hops out of the sun can mean the difference between life and death.
21Luckily, it's got wheels - well sort of.
22The seed's shape - with two flat sides and one curved - even allows the jumping beans to travel uphill.
23Inside, the larva is working hard.
24With its back legs, it grabs onto the silk lining and thrashes its head against the seed wall.
25The force topples the seed.
26Researchers think these headbangers aim themselves in the right direction using a finely-tuned sense of temperature.
27Check out this experiment.
28One side of the pan is warmed by a heat lamp, the other is cooled by an ice pack.
29Over time, the larvae move away from the heat.
30It's not always a smooth trip.
31If the seed gets damaged, the larva springs into action, repairing holes with a dense patch of silk.
32But the larva can't stay in its comfort zone forever.
33With sharp mandibles, it cuts a circular door in the seed wall.
34But it doesn't open it.
35It's doing its future self a favor.
36When it's done it turns into a pupa. And then transforms into an adult moth.
37It simply pushes itself through the pre-cut exit door - which is handy, because now its mandibles are gone.
38The liberated moth has mere days, maybe a few weeks, to quickly mate and lay eggs before it dies.
39But after all, freedom isn't really what this animal lives for.
40For most of life, it's totally fine being a young larva trapped inside a seed,
41just hoping and hopping for a place in the shade.