Forest Caterpillars in New Orleans

2006-10-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

Today is our final day. We worked in the lab in the morning. I sorted moth specimens from Costa Rica. At noon, Dr Dyer gave a final talk to all the Earthwatch volunteers. Then we said our goodbyes. The week went by fast but we gained an incredible amount of knowledge. I can't wait to come back and share what I learned with my students and colleagues.

2006-10-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

Today I worked in the "bug lab" at Tulane University. I "spread" moth and butterfly specimens so Dr. Grant Gentry could classify them for his collection. It's painstaking work. You have to very careful and pin the butterflies and moths in a perfect symmetrical position. Here are some photos from the lab. You can see Dr. Gentry holding up some samples from his collection.

2006-10-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Today we had an exciting day collecting caterpillars in New Orleans. A scientist named Grant took Wendy, Suzanne, Meg (the other Earthwatch volunteers) and me to parks around the city to find catapillars. We found quite a few.

On a sad note, we went to the Gentilly nieghborhood of New Orleans that was hit hard by the hurricane. We could see the water line from the flood on the houses. Some houses were abandoned while some people are rebuliding their houses and living in trailers in their front yeards. There is still a lot of debris and junk around the city.

After we got back from collecting caterpillars, I was able to to feed some caterpillars called wooly bears. They were really cute and hyper too! They ran around their containers.
Take a look at these pictures from the field.

2006-10-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

Today the other Earthwatch team members and I went out with a scientist to catch caterpillars at a place called Honey Island Swamp. The swamp is about 40 miles from New Orleans on the Pearl River. We looked under and around plants, trees, and bushes to find caterpillars. All together we found about 50 catapillars. I found five. Some were hairy and some were slimy. We took them in plastic bags and took them back to the lab at Tulane University. Here are some photos from my day in the field.

2006-10-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I arrived in New Orleans late this afternoon. The weather is beautiful here. I met three other teachers I will working with at a hotel. We all walked over to Tulane University to meet the professor in charge of the caterpillar project. The professor's name is Dr. Dyer. He talked to us about how caterpillars survive in their habitats. Tomorrow we will go out into the field and collect live caterpillars!
Here are some pictures of Dr. Dyer. It turns out he plays soccer too!

2006-10-18T20:14:00.001-07:00

In just a few days I will be leaving for New Orleans. I am excited to go on this adventure and tell you all about it. You can look up information about the expedition on the link to the right. Pack your bags and come along with me. Don't forget to bring a jar to collect caterpillars!