Dawn to Dusk

My kayak crew worked a record three plots today and we were rewarded with a gorgeous trip paddling downriver by sunset.

This is one of my caterpillar finds that I fell in love with. He's been called the "Cutest Catepillar in the World" and "Cuticus maximus" but his real name is Fall Webworm (Hyphantria cunea). He never slows down, so it is hard to get a good picture of this punky little guy.

I usually get up before the other teachers and try to get out for a little early morning bird watching. Today I got to see a pair of Yellow-billed Cuckoos feasting on tent caterpillars up in the treetops--yummy breakfast! I started thinking about just how interconnected all the creatures are in this local ecosystem. Ecologists often use a diagram called a FOOD WEB to show these interactions, or the flow of energy from one organism to another.

CHALLENGE QUESTION: Can you use these organisms in a food web to show who eats whom in our local swamp? Write the words in your response journal and use arrows to connect them. See an example of a food web here if you need more guidance!

TENT CATERPILLAR
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO

MAPLE TREE

BRACCONID WASP (parasitoid)

BACTERIA

BLACKBERRY BUSH

COOPER'S HAWK

TACHINID FLY (parasitoid)

CHALCID WASP (hyperparasitoid)