Today we collected caterpillars a little differently than just looking for them on plants. We used what is called the “Beat Method”. We were broken into 4 groups of 3 and were handed a 1 meter square piece of canvas that looked very much like a kite and a large stick. The object was to place the square underneath Chusquea (Bamboo) and use the provided stick to beat the plant. It’s pretty simple; the beating caused vegetation, sticks and caterpillars to fall into the canvas. We then sorted through the material that fell onto the square and collected any caterpillars that fell. For the morning my group was able to do 15 beats, with an average of 5 caterpillars per beat. Our largest haul was 16 caterpillars in one beat, not too shabby. The beat method was much more efficient for collecting caterpillars then just searching different host plants, like we did yesterday.
With each beat the scientists are able to gather a bunch of different data: number of caterpillars in a 1 meter square plot, species diversity in a square meter and species that depend on Chusquea as a food source.
After lunch we needed to process all of the caterpillars we collected. Much like yesterday everyone took a job and went to work. My job was to help wash and sanitize all of the containers the caterpillars would live in. I helped wash nearly a 1,000 little cups, lids, old peanut butter jars, fruit cups and mayo jars. Pretty much anything with a lid you could use to house a caterpillar in. Luckily, we washed everything that we needed for the rest of the week.
We finished up working about 3:30 and headed down to the town of Cosanga to play a little soccer. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain and the indoor field was locked. So, with a little hesitation, we decided to play in the rain (after all it was Dr. Dyer’s birthday). That hesitation quickly went away and we ended up having a ton of fun and a few of the locals even stopped by to watch us crazy people playing in the rain. At some point during the soccer game it hit me. We are in South America, collecting caterpillars in the middle of a cloud forest and playing soccer in the pouring rain. THIS IS AWESOME!
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- Step 1 – Beat the Bamboo
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- Step 2 – Sort through the mess
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- Step 3 – Place caterpillars into thier new home
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- A few different caterpillars we found
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- Caterpillar Pupa
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- Check this guy out!
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- He’s devouring the Bamboo
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- Our haul for the day
That beetle picture is just icky.