Hey it's Anna and Sarah coming at you with the day three update. Today there was a giant bug in Anna and Sarah's room that was comparable to a tarantula. Yikes. We woke up at to heavy storms that persisted throughout the morning and most of the afternoon. Despite the rain, we still ventured out into the rainforest to learn how to properly excavate the leaf cutter ants from the ground. While out there, we came across many other cool insects including bullet ants (very dangerous), fire ants, tree ants, and termites that had a very invasive nuptial flight during the evening. The teachers guided us through the trails and demonstrated how to carefully open and remove the nests that we will be using for our research projects.
We took a brief intermission from our intense sciencing to have a little fun. We left at about 12:30, after a quick lunch, to head towards the zip line facility in the canopy. We got our harnesses and started climbing up the side of the volcano (thigh burner!). On the way up we passed cows, monkeys, and many insects. After a steep climb, we finally made it to the top. The way down was filled with many adrenaline-filled runs and great views of the rainforest. It was a lot of fun!
Upon our return, we started the science back up, and fortunately the rain had cleared. After being assigned groups, we set out to excavate an ant colony of our own. The actual digging was not too hard, but fending off flying termites while digging yields struggles. Many of us successfully retrieved the fungus gardens and queens that we were after in the end.
After a nice dinner, it was already dark so half of us went out on a nature walk, while the others prepared the ant colonies for the experiments we have yet to do. Then we would switch roles. The night hike sounded like a very promising chance to see a lot of creatures, until we found out that creatures meant bugs (and one frog). Nonetheless, it was still cool to see many species we didn't know even existed, and hear the serene sounds of the forest that comes alive at night.
canopy
zip line video
ant colony from surface
digging video
max's triumphant return!
Love, your authors. Anna and Sarah (pictured from left to right)
Great to see you all having fun and getting sciency. Now we all know what a fungus garden actually is - it sounds like the name of a punk rock band! Also great to see Max's smiling face, thanks for sharing that as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, I enjoyed your update. Sounds like this experience will help you survive the random box elder bug or lady bug that invades your bedroom back at home. Say hi to Anna for me.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Dad