First Day Back!

I was so excited to return to school today and see the fabulous Coleman campers! They welcomed me back with super hugs, cards, and lots of questions! We spent some time in the morning talking about the trip and looking at more pictures. I was also quite impressed with their questions and their interest in my experiences in Louisiana. They seem motivated to start a similar investigation or community/school based project in the next few weeks, expanding on what we have learned so far in a fun and meaningful way. I included some cool pictures of insects that assistant researcher, Mark, took last week. The pictures found in the blog entries, as well as many more that have not been posted will be available to view from our class website in the next few days. Check them out at www.mscoleman.com/earthwatch.This insect is called a lacewing. They have 2 pairs of wings and chewing mouthparts, as well as long, thin bodies. Lacewings resemble dragonflies, but they hold their wings over their backs when they are not flying: dragonflies are unable to fold their wings over their bodies. As the name suggests, the wings of these insects are lace-like, with a dense network of veins and cross veins. Lacewings are fast-moving predators that patrol plants for aphids, insect eggs, and other arthropod prey.

Here is the frass from a bag of about 20-30 small caterpillars. We had to clean out about this much frass each day from this particular baggie!

This is a picture of a Damselfly (Suborder Zygoptera), an insect in the Order Odonata. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along the body when at rest. Damselflies are also usually smaller, weaker fliers than dragonflies, and their eyes are separated.

This plant-feeding insect is called a Plathopper and is part of the family Flatidae. This species of planthopper is found in various parts of the world, and is sometimes called the green planthopper, or the torpedo bug. They about 15 mm long, they resemble small leaves and are generally found in trees. Their wings are triangular, and the back edge and corners of their wings are lined with dotted red. Kinda looks like a punk rocker to me!

Barklice are tiny (less than 1/8 inch long) brownish insects. Adults have two pairs of wings, with the forewing being larger than the hind wing. Barklice have long, thin antennae and their mouthparts are for chewing. They feed on fungi, algae, dead plant tissues and other debris. Consequently, they are considered harmless and perhaps beneficial to the trees they infest.

More to come soon!

Here is answer to the last challenge question: The hidden animal is a green tree snake. Nice job blending in, huh!? I thought it was really amazing how well animals can blend in with their surroundings, especially after seeing so many different types of animals camouflaged with their surroundings this past week!