It was a rainy week for us, however it looks like we a little bit more successful this week than last. We are estimating we collected over 200 insects this week.
[:en]I’m glad I checked the trap when I did; otherwise I would have been looking at a kite instead! Not nearly as many specimens in the jar as last Tuesday. Sounds like we’re not the only ones experiencing low numbers this week. It’ll be interesting to see what effect the rain will have.[:]
[:en]The day that we went out, it was raining rather hard, so moisture levels were high. The first thing we did was check the tent and the ethanol bottle. The amount of bugs was very limited. In fact, we saw almost NO bugs. Then, we took pictures of the trap and the surrounding area.
[:en]The weather for our first day of week two saw us go out with umbrellas. The temperature has definately dropped and it’s feeling a lot like fall. 16 degrees, 74% humidity, 100% cloud cover. It was raining so hard we didn’t take out our camera! Interested to see what impact that may have on our catch rate for tomorrow!!
On Friday our class had a very good catch, we caught between 35 and 40 bugs! There were no disturbances to our trap. It was windy and cold, that was the only downside. But it didn’t seem to impact our catch! We continue to work together taking turns recording, measuring taking pictures, blogging and tweeting![:fr]On Friday our class had a very good catch, we caught between 35 and 40 bugs! There were no distrubances to our trap. It was windy and cold, that was the only downside. But it didn’t seem to impact our catch! We continue to work together taking turns recording, measuring taking pictures, blogging and tweeting![:]
[:en]Today is the beginning of week 2. We have just replaced the bottle in the trap. The day is very miserable. It is raining lightly and overcast. The trap is under the tree which means it’s dry. More bugs might be caught because they will want to stay dry and go under the tree where the trap is. – Jamie, Sophie and Noelle
Collection from Week 1[:]
[:en]We went out in light rain to attache the bottle with ethanol today. We took pictures and stared to head inside. We just made it in before it started to pour rain!
[:en]Hi! St. Paul’s Collegiate is having a really good go product testing the Malaise Trap. We say that tongue in cheek as our conditions are nearly always very, very windy, and the durability of the trap is well-tested. It holds up well, though the collection bottle is tossed around incessantly. All of that said, there are numerous insects present. We have received many questions from interested staff and students who are not directly involved in the program but have otherwise become so via inquiry. It certainly gets mistaken as a tent with regularity!
Using scientific equipment and contributing to baseline data that drives research is a fundamentally important piece to any young person’s science education. This has certainly hit that mark. Then interest and inquiries will continue into Week 2!
A huge thank you to some former St. Michael Warriors who helped take down the trap on Friday.
It was definitely good timing as cold air, wind and rain blew in Friday evening…and we woke up to a dusting of snow on Saturday morning here in Calgary – and a windchill of -4C.
Our research period has come to an end. The research team did a final meeting and dismantled the trap and then compared week 1 and week 2 catch. The weather is getting much cooler, therefore we are seeing fewer insects. Frost had spread on roofs Friday morning. We are so thankful that our school was chosen to participate in the School Malaise Trap Program and we cannot wait to see the results of our research!
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