Tag Archives: arachnids

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Day 15 (5/30): The Belize Splurge and Purge

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I don’t want to leave Belize. I really don’t. But Deepu, remember that in the late 1300s Geoffrey Chaucer said all good things must come to an end. So, this tropical field biology expedition must come to an end. It has to. Geoffrey Chaucer said so.

After our last 6:30AM breakfast, we left Las Cuevas at 8AM on a rugged country road that I’m not a fan of but will dearly miss. I passed out and woke up to the van stopping at Orange Gallery, a souvenir shop where I splurged on two Belize bookmarks.

Bye-bye LCRS. You will be dearly missed.

We went to the restaurant Cheers for lunch and were treated like royalty- each person’s meal budget was forty Belizean dollars ($20 USD). I stuffed my intestines, stomach, and esophagus to my heart’s content in tribute to the beautiful foodstuffs this country offers. Then, we trudged onwards to the Belize airport. Even the van did not want to take us there.

Security check took 2 minutes. Not colloquially- literally. And here I am, forcing my body to move back to a country where security checks are so long that female anacondas get jealous.

I’m writing this on the plane to Houston. It just hit that I’ll be at home in T-18 hours as the flight attendant handed me Wheat Thins and honey roasted peanuts (Southwest really stepped up its snack game). Taxon-wise, just found a tick on my neck. I made sure to decapitate it with my thumb and index finger nails- just like a true TFB would. This trip will be something I remember for years to come. Belize was fun and unbelievable. It was funbelizeable.

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Day 14 (5/29): The Final Trek

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Today we had one job and one job only: collect 14 camera traps spread all over trails and forested area near the Las Cuevas Research Station. We headed out to the 50 Hectare Plot Trail around 8AM and finished collecting the 6 camera traps by around 10:30AM- amazing timing. The group hustled through the steep hills and walked with the intention of finishing the trail. Taxon-wise, I did not see any arachnids, probably because I was too focused on maintaining my balance and not tripping over hidden roots. I felt a lot better about trekking this trail today than Friday.

After returning to the station, I saw another red-rump tarantula (Brachypelma vagans)! It was located under the research station building, about 2 inches in diameter. Afterwards, we did our final presentations for the course, ate lunch, and headed out on the Monkey Tail Trail to pick up the last 8 camera traps at 1:20PM. This trail took us about 5 hours; granted, we did have to walk a bit farther and stopped to see some special organisms. Two Western Lubber grasshoppers were spotted, along with some longhorn beetles and a Mexican burrowing toad. Despite the length of the trail, the walk was good bonding time for the group- guffaws, chuckles, and laughs were shared that won’t be forgotten for years to come.

Anotha one (Red Rump Tarantula)

We stepped into the Las Cuevas Research Station at 6:30PM, ate dinner, and went to the classroom to unearth the pictures from our camera traps. The results were insane. The cameras revealed two ocelots, six lowland pacas, a great curassow, and a group of peccaries. 2 OCELOTS AND 10 OTHER LARGE ORGANISMS?!?! Such sightings are a new record in this EBIO 319 course. We were all ecstatic for these results because we did spend a bit of time setting up/taking down these cameras and were told not too many animals usually show up on these camera traps. Granted, much of our animal activity came from one camera trap set in one specific location, but that doesn’t matter! Ocelots rule!

Today’s the last official field day of this trip. Tomorrow we leave for the Belize airport at 7:30AM. It’s been eye-opening for sure.

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Day 13 (5/28): Arachnid Paradise

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I finally made it to bird-watching today! I saw two scarlet macaws perching on a high tree branch. At 8AM, we went out to the rainforest to collect our urine tubes. Upon analysis of these urine tubes back in the lab, we found ants, beetles, crickets, flies, and arachnids!

After lunch, we headed to the Las Cuevas Cave, which is about a 5 minute walk from the station. The entrance of the cave was massive- we looked down from a Mayan built platform and there was a 50 foot drop to the bottom. This cave had 9 chambers, each assembled by the Maya for ritualistic purposes. Due to archaeological excavation, we were only able to see the entrance of the cave and the first chamber.

The first chamber of the cave was dark, chilly, and mystical- a perfect place to present on amphibian and reptile taxon groups! Afterwards, Damien presented on tropical diseases back at the station. Then, we headed out on a 45 minute hike to the Bird Tower, an observation deck 300 feet in the air that oversees all of the Chiquibul Rainforest. The view was breathtaking. Everywhere I looked there were mountains, rolling hills, and deep rock crevasses. The research station was also visible from the Bird Tower- it was a small speck of clearing and really put our isolation to the rest of the world in perspective. Turiez topped everything off with an amazing presentation on her defaunation research in Gabon and the Amazon.

Bottom half of the Bird Tower

The Chiquibul

On the way back to the station was the self-proclaimed night hike. I saw a wolf spider (Hogna spp.), a tailless whip scorpion (Paraphyrnus raptator), and 2 Florida bark scorpions (Centruoides gracilis)! The wolf spider was motionless on a leaf while both the tailless whip scorpion and 2 Florida bark scorpions were found after Scott chipped some bark away from a dead tree.

 

Wolf Spider

Tailless whip scorpion

Florida Bark Scorpion

All in all, today felt very productive and I’m glad we had the chance to see all of these sights because tomorrow is our last full day at Las Cuevas :(.

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Day 12 (5/27): Tarantula!!!

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Today was catch-up day. We’ve been falling behind on lecture presentations the past few days, so we decided to grind out 7 presentations. After a morning presentation, we started a new project: the nitrogen project. All 11 of us had to urinate into 22 tubes which we attach to trees and bury in the ground- hopefully, arthropods are attracted to the nitrogen in our urine and fall into our tubes. It’s a 24-hour ordeal, so we will go back to the rainforest tomorrow to collect our critters and analyze the species diversity in the tubes.

We had lunch after the nitrogen project and knocked out another 3 presentations. Then came an activity I know Scott has been waiting for since last year’s course: the ant colony investigation. 3 differently aged ant colonies were investigated for their fungal chunks and any queens, ranging from 1-20 years of age. The oldest colony was estimated to be 10-15 years old and was MASSIVE. I’m talking at least 100-150 square feet of area with multiple entrance areas and a depth of at least 15 feet. Scott and a guide named Apache spent 45 minutes digging but could not find any fungal chunks- to put this in context, we found a fungal chunk in the first colony (1-year-old) in the first 10 minutes of digging about 8-12 inches.

Fungus grown in leaf-cutter ant colonies

The soldier ants in the oldest colony were also straight savage- they were about 1-1.5 inches long with mandibles that can bite through rubber. Damien had a soldier ant biting his pant legs and when Apache pulled the ant off Damien’s pants, the body detached and the head stayed attached to his pants- it was freaky.

I presented on arachnids after dinner, 2 other people presented, and then a group of us went tarantula hunting! We did not have much luck at first, but we were soon joined by Dr. Aimee (a spider expert), who easily showed us 3 huge red-rump tarantulas (Brachypelma vagans) and one Livingston tarantula (C. livingstoni). As a bonus, we saw two pauraque birds!

Red Rump Tarantula we found

There are 2 full days left in Las Cuevas. It seemed like forever ago we landed in the Belize City airport, but suddenly forever does not seem too long ago.

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Day 11 (5/26): We did not get lost in the Chiquibul Rainforest.

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Today was our first full day at Las Cuevas and my first day I ever thoroughly ventured into the rainforest. Let me tell you, it was not what I expected. We spent a solid 8-9 hours in the in the Mayan thickets, walking on and off trails to set up camera traps for our tropical field biology project.

In the morning, we travelled on a path called the 50 Hectare Plot- it was really steep with two large hills and really large Mayan structures we had to climb over. On that trail, I saw a black jumping spider (Paraphidippus aurantis) and a small wolf spider (Hogna spp.). Also, we saw a mammal! It was climbing up a tall strangler fig and I pulled my camera out too late to get a good picture of it- it was identified as either a common possum or a type of Mexican porcupine.

Black jumping spider on 50 Hectare Plot Trail

We travelled on the Monkey Tail Trail after lunch, which was mostly flat with a few felled trees we had to climb over. It took us about 5 hours to navigate the trail and come back to the field station. The walk was interesting- we saw a scorpion snake, possible deer bones, and a fer-de-lance! Also, after our last off-trail camera trap setup, we were walking back to trail and did not get lost. I repeat, we did not get lost at 6PM in the Chiquibul Rainforest. We simply took a 40ish minute detour off trail before we thankfully reached trail.

Overall, today was a good experience- there were a lot of smells, sights, and sounds that I have never witnessed before. The forest is an environment I am not used to, so I was on edge the first hour or so. But, it’s actually a pretty serene place to be- once you forget about the venomous snakes, insects, and large cats roaming around.

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Day 10 (5/25): Bye-bye Paradise.

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We left Crystal Paradise Resort today. The moment was sad yet sobering. Nobody wanted to leave that cushy eco-lodge with an attached bathroom and outdoor thatched dining area, but we all knew that it must be done in the name of science. Scott and Turiez took us to a beautiful nature-made water park called Rio-on Pool before lunch. The place was magical- one can have his/her back massaged underneath the 20-foot waterfall and sunbathe in the shallow freshwater pools.

Rio-on Pool

Afterwards, we reached Las Cuevas two hours after we left Rio-on Pool, ate lunch, got briefed by the field manager Pedro, and then set off for our first forested path: the Maya Trail. Forest biodiversity is fascinating- the first forest species I saw was the bird Oropendullum montezuma. It is black with a yellow tail. Taxon-wise, I saw a wolf spider (Hogna spp.) and a green jumping spider (M. penicillatus) on the trail. There were a lot of spider webs attached to tree branches, but none of them had spiders- only food materials like a baby flies.

Green Jumping spider on a leaf

As we were walking through the Maya Trail, Scott paused, shoved his hand into some brush, and just casually pulled out a lizard. All of our jaws hit the forest floor, but little did we know that him pulling random organisms out of the brush would become a common occurrence.

We saw three Mayan structures today: a pyramid, a low wall, and a ball court. The pyramid was 40-50 feet high and really steep, but we still managed to climb it. There was nothing at the top- for some reason I thought there would be a secret tunnel into the pyramid. Oh Deepu, you dreamer you. The low wall structure is suspected to be some sort of pathway to a cave, which Mayans regarded as sacred sites. The ball court was pretty cool- the walls to it rose up about 15-20 feet on two opposite sides and the game played in the court often ended in one team getting sacrificed.

Las Cuevas gives off a feeling of mystique and excitement which I’ve never experienced before. Tomorrow we set camera traps!

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Day 9 (5/24): ATM AT ATM

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Today was a day of tourism. The destination was the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave in San Ignacio. Around 8AM, we left the Tropical Education Center for the last time, stopped at Benge’s Cost Less general store to drop off our luggage trailer, and reached the ATM Cave by 9:40AM. Our guide took us on an hour hike through the rainforest towards the cave, which was devastated from a hurricane last year- the guide told us that at least 15-foot water waves ripped through the trail we were hiking on, damaging a lot of the trees there.

The cave is a wet cave; when we reached the cave’s mouth, we swam through refreshingly frigid waters and continued to hike/swim through the wet part of the cave before we scaled a tall rock face on a sketch ladder to the cave’s dry part. On the way to the dry part, the guide pointed out stalactite and stalagmite formations that looked like curtains and dresses- all naturally created by water over millions of years.

The dry part was ridden with ancient Mayan ceramics and 14 human skeletons, of which we saw five. These remains are said to be from Mayan sacrifices done in conjunction with bloodletting ceremonies to appease the rain god Chaac and other deities in times of drought or hardship. Speaking of bloodletting, I scraped my knee on a rock and it was pouring rain once we exited the cave. Coincidence or did I just unintentionally appease the Mayan rain god Chaac with my type A negative blood?

I only saw one unidentified spider today in the cave- it was large, brown, and motionless on a rock. It very much looked like a wolf spider but the legs were more spindly and longer. After the ATM Cave, we drove to San Ignacio downtown and spent time strolling through shops and the fruit market before heading to our eco-lodge for the night, Crystal Paradise Resort. Everything about that resort was rustic and grandeur: thatched roof, huge rooms, and an attached bathroom! I was really excited for that attached bathroom. After dinner, I presented on the geologic and biogeographic history of Belize, strolled around the eco-lodge for a bit, and finally crashed in my bed at 10PM.

Crystal Paradise Resort Hut

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Day 8 (5/23): Hello World

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We’re back on the mainland and I’m not too sure how to feel about it. I was dreading the marine portion of the class the few weeks leading up to the class because I have never swam in the ocean before, much less snorkel in it. The whole environment was new to me, I did not know what to expect, and was not sure of my abilities in the ocean. However, after a week of constantly snorkeling, performing experiments on marine life, and gulping in large amount of seawater, I came to fall in love with the beach life. The refreshing coolness of the Caribbean Ocean and the sense of adventure enticed me like no other. Unfortunately, it was violently ripped away from me just as I overcame my previous self-doubts. Such is life I guess.

As every other day, today was packed- we loaded the boat at Glover’s Reef around 8AM to visit the Smithsonian’s Carrie Bow Island and the mangroves in Twin Caye. Carrie Bow Island, like Glover’s Reef, was a piece of paradise- it was much smaller than Glover’s Reef, but was covered with coconut trees, soft white sand, and had 360° views of sparkling blue water. All in the name of research, of course. A man named Clyde was the field station manager on duty and he gave us a briefing of Carrie Bow’s history while showing us around the station. Excellent bathrooms, I tell you. Excellent.

At 10AM, we left Carrie Bow to go to the mangroves and SAW A MANATEE AT THE MANGROVES!!! Get excited because that is completely ridiculous. Scott and Adrienne said it was the first manatee sighting in this course’s long history. The mangroves were another universe- unlike the ocean, it was calm and serene with magnificent knotted red mangrove roots and turquoise-green water. Oh yeah, the class saw a small yellow seahorse too. Just putting that out there.

We arrived at Belize City around 1PM, ate lunch at a restaurant called Calypso, and reached the Tropical Education Center (the same place we stayed one week ago) at 4PM. Then, Scott took us on a trip down a TEC trail, where I saw an unidentified spider with yellow spots on its abdomen hanging on a web with small fly in mouth (maybe G. cancriformis). I also saw a gray/brown wolf spider (Hogna spp.) hiding in an epiphyte’s leaves. It was about 2 inches long and was not moving at all.

After dinner, we went to the Belize Zoo for a night tour and saw so many animals- coatimundi, an ocelot named Rayburn who made really loud purring noises while eating meat, a jaguar, a puma, and even a Morelet crocodile. Oh, I also fed a Baird’s tapir some carrots. No big deal. All in all, it’s been a pretty noteworthy day. Bye-bye surf and hello turf!

Tapir at the Belize Zoo

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Are We In Belize? Yes we are.

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I met the whole crew around 10:15 AM. And just like that, we passed through security check and I’m munching on a footlong tuna Subway sandwich. The time is 1:20pm. I’ll be in Belize in T-3 hours. Life is awesome.

What was that? My face looks like the Mona Lisa? Oh, stop it you.

We landed in Belize around 4pm and went through immigration and customs. Afterwards, we hopped into a van and made a pit stop at Low’s, a general grocery store. I didn’t buy anything, but the smell reminded me of the convenience stores in India- it was probably the detergent powder.

We reached the Tropical Exploration Center (TEC) around 6PM, got a brief tour of the place, put our luggage into our rooms, and ate dinner.

No luck with arachnids today. I saw some fish in the dining room’s fish tank, but unfortunately I don’t think any of those were piscivores. I did manage to see a really big leaf cutter ant colony at the entrance of TEC and there was a group sighting of a green iguana reaching for leaves on a tree branch.

I just realized there is no iguana in this picture.

We’re boating to Glover’s island tomorrow. I heard that involves intense equatorial sun rays and getting wet. At the same time. The whole time. Literally the whole boat ride will be me caramelizing in the sun while getting battered by massive torrents of Caribbean sea water. I am excited.

 

 

 

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Belize: the Country, the Myth, the Legend

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In 14 hours, I’ll be on a Southwest Airlines flight, hopefully in an aisle seat. Unfortunately, that dream has never been a reality. But tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow is the day I fight anyone and anything for that beloved aisle seat covered in rich velvet and provided with technologies such as extra leg room and a free arm rest. Oh, tomorrow will be the day I come, see, and conquer. After that, I’m going to Belize.

I’m not really too sure what to expect out of this two week journey. I’ve never been to the tropics or a reef before, and there are so many variables that’ll be thrown at me all at once in such a short time period- the sights and sounds of a new country, the vast unknown of the tropical rainforest, and the shimmery blue depths of the reef. I’m pretty pumped for the sensory overload and figure it’ll be an awesome experience. Reading the book and researching my lecture topic/taxon assignments prepared and provided me with somewhat of an idea of what Belize has to offer, but experiencing everything firsthand will definitely be eye opening.

Honestly, I hope I can identify piscivorous fish and arachnids when I get to that jungle of a place. The piscivorous fish finding should not be too bad because they’ll be in plain sight underwater, but arachnids might be a bit tough. There are so many of them that’ll scurry past before you can identify them and a lot of them are hidden under rocks/debris. But where there is a will, there is a way.

I’m the most nervous about snorkeling. I don’t have too much experience with it and mainly need to work on depressurizing my ears. That being said, I’m really excited to venture out into the tropical rainforest and walk under a canopy of leaves while surrounded by massive, towering tree trunks. I really hope I can see an ocelot- if not in real time, at least from a camera trap. Also, I’m weirdly stoked about getting down and dirty on the forest floor to identify some arachnids. I’ve never been to the tropics before, but I also never rode a bike until I rode a bike.

Watch out Belize- Deepu Karri is coming to town. On a Southwest Airlines aisle seat.