First and foremost – Happy world bee day! (thanks for finding that fun fact Nana!)

I started out the day with very immediate excitement after being awoken by howler monkeys at 2 am, to find out they had been hanging out in the trees right off the edge of the last cuevas clearing.

This morning we got to go into the Las Cuevas Cave with the on site Karst team and got to explore the entrance room and peak into the twilight room – we were unable to go further due to it being a protected site.

This afternoon we collected our samples testing nitrogen accessibility in the canopy and the ground, and then presented a poster of our findings to our professors. This evening we took a short but tedious hike to the bird-watching tower to get an amazing view of the sunset.

In honor of world bee day (it was actually coincidental) I gave my taxon briefing on bees and got to talk about the black slender stingless bees everywhere, the belted orchid bees in our flowers, along with honey bees, long-winged toothed stingless bees, and the Central American robust stingless bee.

We started the morning by finishing our project on cecropia trees and presenting our study to our professors.

We then got to hear presentations from a caving expert on site, and the director of FCD. We then got to disrupt an ant mound to see into the tunnels and pull out some of the fungal garden.

Saw many more of the black slender stingless bees today, they really like to get up close and personal with us. I also found a  belted orchid bee in the flowers right outside  my door. It had a very distinct yellow abdomen, and presumably a male getting pheromones from the flowers.

Off to our night hike tonight and another early morning of birding tomorrow!!

Continue reading 5/19 – 2 new projects and more bees! →

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We started out our day by designing an experiment with camera traps – we decided on “How does the presence of man-made trails impact biodiversity of invertebrates immediately surrounding LCRS.” We set out into the trails and placed a total of 14 camera traps throughout the day to hopefully capture some wildlife!

After a very slow start to my bee sightings this morning, many more were seen in the afternoon, mainly along the roads and into the undisturbed forest nearby.

There were many sightings, and many of which were too quick to identify. One I identified as a central american robust stingless bee due to its smaller size and cinched waist. They also have a very shiny appearance to their abdomen.

We later encountered a large swarm of both bees and wasps that were all circling a wet patch along the road – probably seeking salt. I believe the bees mixed in were the black slender stingless bees because of their longer and skinnier body. There was a final clear sighting of another central american robust stingless bee at the very end of our trek.

Today we travelled into the Chiquibul forest to first visit Caracol archaeological site, containing many beautiful Mayan Ruins.

On the way we encountered a cashew tree that grows sweet fruits that attract what our guide called “drunken beemen” due to their attraction to rotten fruit, or as I identified them as slender stingless bees.

We also ran into a group of narrow stingless bees within their honey comb. These bees are honey producers, and their honey combs is quite camouflaged for defense.

We finally arrived at Las Cuevas and took a quick hike around the uncovered mayan ruins to get a sense of the area. Hopefully going to bed early tonight!

We had an early start of 6am this morning to meet at school before we headed off to the airport. We landed in Belize around noon and quickly got on the road after a long time with customs.

We stopped to get lunch after about an hour on the road at a place that felt a little in the middle or nowhere. We then continued on to stop at a store and pick up some snacks for the rest of the week.

After our last half-hour in the bus we arrived at Crystal paradise ecolodge. We got a nice tour, checked out our rooms (with AC) and then walked to the stream before our delicious dinner at the lodge. We closed out the night with presentations and some much needed cold showers!

Unfortunately no bee sightings today! But I will be on the lookout tomorrow!

Hi guys! My name is Claire Dillon, and I am a rising sophomore from McMurtry college. I am currently studying biosciences, cognitive sciences, and environmental science. I am super excited and very nervous for the trip. I hope I am very prepared after the many taxon groups I researched including bees, trumpetfish and seahorses. I also did a lot of research on coral growth and destruction for my topic presentation.

I am trying to come in with little to no expectations but I am definitely hoping to learn a lot about ecology and marine biology. I especially want to learn a lot about conservation and how we can better treat these habitats. I also think it will be super cool staying in these more remote locations, and I am looking forward to our morning bird-watching in the forest. Honestly to thing I am most nervous about is no air- conditioning, but I think I’ll survive. I am mainly just excited to be snorkeling off the reefs in Belize. I know it will be so beautiful, and I really love marine biology.

I do have some previous experience in the tropics. Specifically Belize even. I was here 2 summers ago, and I can’t wait to go back. As for fieldwork I have done and been a counselor at my high schools ecology trip where me did forest and stream research in Missouri.