kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com
Kiwis to Caterpillars: Earthwatch Day 2
http://kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com/2009/08/earthwatch-day-2.html
Where in the world am I now? Thursday, August 6, 2009. After breakfast in the lobby, Dr. Dyer gave a presentation explaining his research - very fascinating. So what's his research? He collects caterpillars and catalogs information about them in five different areas of the Americas. He identifies and rears them, and looks for signs of parasitism. He is comparing rates of parasitism among the species and how different climates. A fourth trophic level! Can't wait to see the critters myself! After l lunch, ...
kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com
Kiwis to Caterpillars: July 7th in New Zealand
http://kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com/2009/08/july-7th-in-new-zealand.html
Where in the world am I now? Sunday, August 2, 2009. July 7th in New Zealand. Our first morning without Katie started early. With a lot of miles ahead of us, we headed out before the sun was fully up. As typical of New Zealand, low-lying clouds were abundant. Even the local cows wondered what we were doing traveling so early. Stopping at Slope Point was a must. It is declared to be the southernmost point of land in New Zealand. The sculpted trees bear the signs that the winds are very strong here! After ...
kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com
Kiwis to Caterpillars: Earthwatch Day 4
http://kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com/2009/08/earthwatch-day-4.html
Where in the world am I now? Saturday, August 8, 2009. Cave Creek Ranch is a beautiful place to stay. The owner, Reed Peters, provides a wildlife feeding station in the center of the cabin grounds. Songbird and hummingbird feeders are set. We waited anxiously outside the lab for our first assignment. In the morning, my group set out with Dr. Dave to a trailhead to do some collecting. The caterpillars often fall off the branches easily as a defense against predators (quick getaway). Any caterpillars found...
kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com
Kiwis to Caterpillars: Earthwatch Day 7
http://kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com/2009/08/earthwatch-day-7.html
Where in the world am I now? Tuesday, August 11, 2009. This morning I was teamed up with John and Jared to do some more plots. We drove up to Rustler Park in the Coronado National Forest of the Chiracahua Mountains. The views below were stunning as we zigzagged our way up to 8,000 ft in elevation. Angela Smilanich, Postdoc Associate at Wesleyan. University, led us to the plotting sites after a short hike further up the mountain. (More about Angela’s research later.). After lunch, we had the afternoon off.
kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com
Kiwis to Caterpillars: Earthwatch Day 1
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Where in the world am I now? Wednesday, August 5, 2009. After an uneventful, but a little turbulent, trip from Newark to Denver, I had a smooth ride on a small plane to Tucson. Having a window seat gave me a great view! Looking down on the land before. Tucson, it appeared very dry and desolate. Spotty housing soon gave way to the huge spread out city of Tucson. A few members that had been e-mailing each other wore their Earthwatch shirts. We were able to find each other in the airport very easily. After ...
kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com
Kiwis to Caterpillars: July 12th in New Zealand
http://kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com/2009/08/trip-home-was-long.html
Where in the world am I now? Sunday, August 2, 2009. July 12th in New Zealand. The trip home was long. A delayed first flight, missing a connection, losing our luggage, not sure of getting a ride home from the airport, all made it very interesting. But we made it home safely. And now that we're home, we can picture Katie comfortable in her new surroundings. And as she continues her adventure independently, we can relate to her stories, with. Images of our trip. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). July 12...
kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com
Kiwis to Caterpillars: Earthwatch Day 5
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Where in the world am I now? Sunday, August 9, 2009. Today I was assigned to work in the lab with John to take pictures of the caterpillars we’ve collected. We were able to use a great camera that focuses very close up. The hardest part is that some of the caterpillars just won’t stop and pose! Some of them keep tooling around, so you have to be ready fast to get the right position and focus. Some of the pictures came out awesome. Here are two of the critters I photographed with my camera! The first sect...
kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com
Kiwis to Caterpillars: July 2009
http://kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html
Where in the world am I now? Thursday, July 30, 2009. July 6th in New Zealand. The next morning, Katie had to sign in and pick up her supplies. University of Otago is serious about giving their students enough bedding! Katie's about to drag it into her flat. Soon we were out exploring the Otago peninsula, just off Dunedin. We went to the Albatross center where we got to see a few chicks sitting on their nests. They were huge! We got one glimpse of an adult flying overhead. July 5th in New Zealand. Woke u...
kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com
Kiwis to Caterpillars: Earthwatch Day 8
http://kiwis2caterpillars.blogspot.com/2009/08/earthwatch-day-8.html
Where in the world am I now? Wednesday, August 12, 2009. As we sat outside waiting for our morning ride and enjoying the birds, I realized this would be our last full day here. Time was going fast, and I (we all) had gotten very comfortable here. As Junko wandered around the wildlife feeding area, her keen eyes spotted this awesome caterpillar. In true caterpillar hunter fashion, she noticed lots of frass (caterpillar droppings) on the ground under a bush, and then looked for the source. As I was collect...