Today was a bit of a chilly day. We caught an additional 0.5 cm of bugs. The sign blew off again. We saw lots of dirt on the tent as well as some bugs like spiders and lady bugs. Some bugs in the bottle were still crawling around. –Nick, Nathan, Maaike, Grace and GC.
Yesterday we did a lab where we learned how to extract DNA from strawberries. First we mashed up the strawberries.
![IMG_4445[1]](http://malaiseprogram.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_44451-e1443200583512-768x1024.jpg)
We added an extraction buffer (soapy, salty water) and mashed it up some more. Then we filtered the juice into a cup.
![IMG_4474[1]](http://malaiseprogram.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_44741-e1443201139644-225x300.jpg)
![IMG_4478[1]](http://malaiseprogram.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_44781-e1443201113312-225x300.jpg)
![IMG_4482[1]](http://malaiseprogram.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_44821-e1443201075921-225x300.jpg)
We used a pipette to add the strawberry juice to a test tube filled with ice cold ethanol. We inverted the tube once to mix the juice with the ethanol. We could see the DNA separate from the juice. It rose to the top of the test tube and looked like a white slimy blob.
![IMG_4497[1]](http://malaiseprogram.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_44971-e1443201055739-225x300.jpg)
![IMG_4490[1]](http://malaiseprogram.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_44901-e1443200454847-225x300.jpg)
We rubbed a glass rod on a t-shirt to give it a charge and we used the glass rod to “spool” the DNA out of the test tube.
![IMG_4462[1]](http://malaiseprogram.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_44621-e1443201179551-225x300.jpg)
![IMG_4460[1]](http://malaiseprogram.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_44601-e1443200681258-225x300.jpg)
![IMG_4463[1]](http://malaiseprogram.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_44631-e1443201160844-225x300.jpg)
Despite having our first frost of the season, we were able to capture a few specimens this week in the Edmonton area!
The Malaise Trap at Elmvale District High School is slowly filling up with bugs. On Wednesday, two mantids were taking advantage of the trap to make their search for food easier. Our class is not sure how many insects that were on their doomed path to the alcohol bottle were consumed by the mantids. However, the mantids themselves seemed to have themselves been added to our catch volume.
It is a beautiful, sunny, warm and windy day. The bugs are half up to the first line. We can’t wait to see the week 1 totals. – EV, JE, MW, TD
Our class (Mr. Stormes’ Class) along with Mrs. Joslin’s Class set up a Malaise trap on Sept 22 in the farmer’s field just outside of Barrie, Ontario. Hopefully after two weeks we will have some new insects. The Malaise trap is designed to trap flying insects and after two weeks we send our results to the BIO lab for research. After a bit we will receive the info of if we discovered any new species. If not, we still get to see what we caught.
How the Malaise trap catches flying insects is simple. The insects will fly threw the trap that looks like a tent and avoid bars that look like obstacles to the insect, then it will go toward the sky and hit screening and go into the collecting bottle. We’re hoping to catch a lot of flying critters.
Onanole school has begun. We had staff from our Neighboring Riding Mtn National Park help us get our trap set up.
Hello #bioSMTP participants,
We hope everyone is having a good first week of insect collecting!
This email is a reminder to remove the collection bottle from Week 1 from the trap by the end of tomorrow (Sept. 25). Be sure to secure the cap back onto to the bottle and store it out of direct sunlight (cool, dark, secure place). Remember to install the bottle for Week 2 on Monday, Sept. 28th (no collecting will take place over the weekend).
ALSO! – At some point tomorrow, don’t forgot to let us know how your collection is coming along. Refer to the tick lines marked along the side of the bottle to give us an estimate as to how many insects you have collected so far as well as how the weather has/will be for your area. If the insects fall below the first tick line, please try to do a rough count of the specimens if possible.
Please feel free to blog about your collection volume in order to share your findings with students from across Canada. You may also tweet/blog pictures of your collection bottle @SMTP_Canada. Comments are enabled on our blog so that you will be able to respond to other school’s posts!
Great work so far & happy collecting!
Sincerely,
The School Malaise Trap Program Team
I saw that there was a big spider in there today. There was also a big black fly. There were a lot of little tiny insects in the trap today. Our trap is in the back corner of our field, near the border fence and the trees. It was a really cold day this morning. But by lunch it was warm! Everyone everyday there are people who come to visit the trap and ask questions.
