Today we had our first introductions to the Chiquibul rainforest! We got to come up with a new research project using a bunch of camera traps to get pictures of animals that we might be scared away if we tried to see them in person. We set up 16 total camera traps all around the research station to see which predators and prey of the forest use areas of human influence such as trails and roads differently. This gave us a great opportunity to spend pretty much all day hiking around the rainforest and getting to know the area! 

On these excursions we saw so many cool things! We could look up and see so many different trees, palms, and other epiphytes such as bromeliads. Dr. Solomon also showed us a truly magnificent leafcutter ant nest that was nearly 20 years old and ridiculously huge! At the peak of one of the trails, we climbed up a tower that looks over the whole rainforest with nothing but trees for miles and miles! And then on the way down, we found a small cave that the Maya used, which was so beautiful and we even found a small area of ceramic sherds! 

Within this cave, and throughout the entire hike, I found so many examples of cool arachnids! Along the trails in the leaf litter, I saw (and held!) some harvestmen, which are a class of arachnids that include daddy long legs. I also saw so many different types of webs, such as thick funnels in the tree trunks. Some of the coolest ones we saw though, were the huge black spiders hanging from the ceiling in the cave! Although I couldn’t identify these sentinels (or get good pics because my camera died), it was still awesome to see so many of them!