Working in the Field
Hi everyone, Remember in my last post I said that it's important for caterpillars to be able to defend themselves from their predators? Well, here's an example of another kind of animal using a certain kind of defense.
Challenge Question: What is the animal in this photo, and what kind of defense is it using to protect itself from predators? Send me your answers!
Yesterday and today I worked in the field with my team mates and the scientists. We collected caterpillars along with the plants they feed on. This is so they have something to eat while we're rearing them in the lab, and so we know what they were eating when we found them. This all gets recorded in the project data base.
Ready for the Field
Yesterday we went on foot into the Honey Island Swanp. We needed a lot of equipment: a bright vest so hunters won't accidentally shoot us, a collecting bag with plastic bags, sharpie markers, and scissors to cut the plants. We also needed lots of water (it's hot here), bug repellent, and sun screen.
Yesterday and today I worked in the field with my team mates and the scientists. We collected caterpillars along with the plants they feed on. This is so they have something to eat while we're rearing them in the lab, and so we know what they were eating when we found them. This all gets recorded in the project data base.Ready for the Field
Yesterday we went on foot into the Honey Island Swanp. We needed a lot of equipment: a bright vest so hunters won't accidentally shoot us, a collecting bag with plastic bags, sharpie markers, and scissors to cut the plants. We also needed lots of water (it's hot here), bug repellent, and sun screen.
Challenge Question: What do you think we need the machete for?
Today we went by kayak to collect caterpillars along the flooded Pearl River. This was great for me because kayaking is one of my favorite things to do. The field sites are all flooded right now so we can't get there by foot. We saw an incredible owl and heard a piliated woodpecker. This area is called a Tupelo Cypress swamp because these are the two dominant trees here.
What's this caterpillar? Use this link to help you identify the caterpillars in the pictures below.
Okay. Now it's time to have some fun. Check out some of the cool cats we've found so far. Use the link below to help you out. If you're working in the media center you can pull this up on a bunch of computers and see who can figure it out first. For each one, send your answer as a comment and I'll post the answers tomorrow. Good Luck!
Challenge Question: What is this caterpillar trying to look like?
Activity: Use this link to create your own caterpillar. Think about different kinds of defenses that caterpillars use. Print out your caterpillars so I can see them when I get back!
Challenge Question: What is this caterpillar trying to look like?Activity: Use this link to create your own caterpillar. Think about different kinds of defenses that caterpillars use. Print out your caterpillars so I can see them when I get back!
posted by Ms. Frye @ 11:19 PM
4 Comments:
from Ms. DeCelle's Class
The animal in the photograph is using camouflage so that predators won't know it's a frog or a toad. Which is it?
from Ms. Wells' Class:
We had some ideas of what the caterpillar might be trying to look like:
-a branch
-poop
-fungus
Ms. Wells' class thinks that the yellowish caterpillar is a white-marked tussock moth.
ms. costello's class thinks the greyish caterpillar is trying to look like:
a dead leaf or
a chrysalis or
a fungus or a
bat or
plant it was one
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