Hikes, Rain, and Ants

Hello friends and family,

Today was filled with exciting and memorable adventures. We started our day with a delicious breakfast and some class time during which we learned how to gather the fungus garden from the leaf cutter ant mounds. We then proceeded to take a short walk into the field where the ants are located. Our professor, Pinto, described the large mounds as the city and the smaller mounds as the suburbs. He showed us all of the different roles of the ant colony, as well as demonstrated how the ants jobs were carried out by opening the ant farm so we could see.

After that, we worked in our teams to search for our own colony to excavate and use for our upcoming research. Some teams found the fungus garden, while others found the queen ant –the essential element to every colony. We then experienced our first downpour while digging for the colony. We made our way back to the classroom, changed out of our clothes, and ate lunch.

After lunch, we went on a slippery hike to the river (which felt like a marathon but in reality was only 2 ½ miles round trip). Rain suddenly poured on us as we walked downhill. A few girls took a tumble from the slippery mud, but no injuries transpired. We swam in the Rio Negro for a short while and proceeded to put our wet clothes back on and make the journey uphill back to the truck. It was difficult. Very difficult. However, it was a fun experience and good exercise.

We then changed again and collected the data from the lab yesterday, where we tested different bacteria on various objects. After we ate dinner and went on our third hike of the day –the night hike. We saw and learned about many animals that we would normally not see during the day. Our guide taught us about about glass frogs, spiders, birds, praying mantis, and walking stick insects.

As we finished our last hike we headed back to the classroom where we input or data from the bacteria lab and watched a short movie on the leaf cutter ant colonies. When we input the data Pinto taught us about statistical analysis. The purpose of the bacteria lab was to expand our knowledge on the scientific method and prepare us for our future experiment with the ants. Today was extremely exhausting, but very educational and fun.

Much love,

The ant farm.

Blog written by Sammy and Siggy J

A hike through the rainforest and a swim in the river.

Leafcutter ants in the field

A steady hand!

Collecting fungus gardens for use in the lab

Field work can be wet work

Sterilizing the spoon before collecting fungus garden

Smiling in the rain

Collecting fungus gardens

Data collection

Our ride to the start of the riverwalk

Javier, our guide

Javier shared a hummingbird 

One of my favorite parts of the day was the way the girls laughed and broke into song as we walked down the muddy, slippery hill. Javier was so impressed to see smiles on all faces in spite of the fact that it rained on us nearly all the way down. The situation made it impossible for us to enjoy the animals, birds, insects, plants Javier planned to show us, so these young women made the experience a fun one anyway! 

We DID hear Howler monkeys while on the way back up the hill after the rain had subsided.

Charlotte