Dendrobates pumilio is called the levi frog because the hind legs are often dark blue contrasting with the orange-red torso. These tiny frogs are no more than 24 mm long, but they are conspicous and call loudly. Organisms that are conspicous rather than camouflaged are said to have aposomatic coloration, warning colors. Their skin secretes toxic alkaloids that were used by Choco Indians to poison their blowgun darts. Any predator who fails to heed the warning gets a very nasty surprise, but even if the encounter kills the frog, the predator learns to avoid this easily recognized prey. In wet weather these frogs are commonly seen on the ground, but if the conditions turn dry they disappear into arboreal reservoirs of water. Dendrobates uses tank bromeliads, members of the pineapple family whose overlapping leaves hold a reservoir of water, for rearing their young. Tadpoles will adhere to the backs of adults who move and deposit them in bromeliads. The tadpoles eat the other organisms that live in the bromeliad's water tank.