Bioblitz 2011!

 I've been out Bioblitzing the last few days, which has been awesome. Okay, Bioblitzing really isn't a verb, but it should be! A Bioblitz is a short event to document biodiversity.

This particular Bioblitz was to find Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants) at Great Basin National Park. In addition to the scientific focus, the Bioblitz had a strong outreach/education component. Ranger Robb led an afternoon kids' hike to a harvester ant mound and explained it. The kids thought it was absolutely fascinating!

 In the evening graduate students studying Hymenoptera gave a campfire talk. They talked about their projects. Then they entertained the crowd by changing the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" to "Head, Thorax, and Abdomen." They had everyone in the crowd do the movements. It was fantastic.

 It was a good turnout, and some of the folks at the campfire talk signed up to be Bioblitz participants the next day and spend some time searching. Two little boys even collected some ants on their bristlecone hike and turned them in.

 One really fun part about the Bioblitz was meeting the other participants. This is Sarah, and I loved her vial bag. I think it may have to become the next fashion accessory.

 Cecilia came from Brazil to study Hymenoptera at Utah State University, and Juanita came from Columbia.

 This is Ken, a retired entomologist who was so gracious sharing his knowledge. In another post I'll pass on some of what he taught me. His binoculars will focus on things only a couple feet away, giving a whole new dimension to insect watching.

 How do you like this bee?
If you say, That's not a bee, you're right. It only has two wings and no waist, which makes it a Diptera (which means two wings). Diptera are flies, and this fly's coloring imitates a bee.

 Students, visitors, and entomologists enjoying a patio talk by another graduate student.

 It was neat seeing the specimens being brought in. This couple had signed up at the campfire program to collect Hymenoptera. They came in so excited. They had found a few cool things. Plus, they said that the Bioblitz experience made them look at the national park in a whole new way. Their peripheral vision was expanded as they tried to locate the insects they might want to catch. And they realized that as they walked, they paid attention to things they had never really noticed before.

Just listening to them brought tears to my eyes. How cool to have a transforming experience and have your horizons broadened and be helping science at the same time!

 A school group from Colorado came and participated the second day, and Desert Boy couldn't resist joining them. With all those nets sweeping the vegetation, they were bound to find some neat things.

 They found this beautiful green wasp, a cuckoo wasp.

 Two of the students examine their catch.

 Here one transfers a find into the baggie. They were so professional, and even though it was the last field day of their 14-day trip, they went after the task with energy.

I sure want to go on a high school class trip like them!

 A big part of a Bioblitz is managing the data, and Sara helped enter the datasheets from the specimens coming in one morning. Even though it isn't one of the funnest tasks, Sara managed to have a big smile. She's going to go far.

 Near the end of the 48-hour collecting period, some of the experienced entomologists from the Nevada Department of Agriculture pulled out their microscopes to start sorting the specimens. So many were collected, especially from the light traps and malaise traps, that they wanted to make it a little easier for folks in the lab.

 Dr. James Pitts, the lead entomologist for the event, helped Becky preserve the specimens she had caught in her bowl traps--colored bowls filled with soapy water. She had a good number.

 Melissa made sure her datasheets were complete before she turned them in. She included a little of the vegetation in her sample, since some hymenopterans can be very particular about what vegetation they use.

 Grace and June were a delight to meet, as well as their fun mom. They did a super job collecting in various locations and I hope we get to spend more time with them!

 The Bioblitz was lucky to have two great sponsors, Western National Parks Association (WNPA) and the Great Basin National Park Foundation. They both provided lunches, at the beginning and end of the event. WNPA also provided some raffle prizes that made some of the participants extra happy.

 Apparently if you're an entomologist, you don't want to get far from your microscope, even if it is lunch time!

The event concluded with the preliminary results:
Over 60 participants
Over 160 collections brought in
Over 25 families of Hymenoptera added to the park list
Over 65 species of Hymenoptera added to the park list

Dr. Pitts and his students now have a big job of sorting, pinning, and identifying ahead of them. We can't wait to find out more about what was caught. They will undoubtedly add some families and many species to the tally. It may take a few (or many) months to process the thousands of specimens collected.

Well that's the quick overview. It was super fun and now I'm ready for a good rest.
If you ever have a chance to participate in a Bioblitz, I highly recommend it!

Last of the Colorado Photos

 Last post of our Colorado trip! It's been fun to think back to it as since we've been back we've been sick and have had more routine work. It sure is nice to get away and have some fun memorable times.

On our last day we went up to the Maroon Bells, a really scenic area managed by the Forest Service. We took a rare family photo.

 Then we managed to get a photo of our whole group. We sort of look like marmots, don't we, sunning ourselves on the rocks!

 My brother Ed and I hiked the scenic loop and found the source for the lake water--a huge spring that started out of nowhere.

Afterwards we decided to check out Aspen and then head up to Independence Pass, the second highest pass in Colorado with a paved highway, at 12, 095 feet.

 The wildflowers were at their peak, and I sure wanted to go hiking up to some of those mountains! Hopefully I will be back.

 Desert Girl did a little hiking with her uncle.

 Some random dude next to the sign. Note the bicycle--there were tons of cyclists on both this road and the Maroon Bells road. It sure would be fun to get in good enough shape to ride those roads!
I have a nearby road I should start practicing on.

 Then it was time to see off the grandparents, who were traveling back to the Midwest via Amtrak.

 I recognized the conductor from our train trip the previous year. The grandparents got to have some interesting train adventures on the way back, becoming misconnects. My brother got a ride from an old friend to Denver, and then we were headed west.

 Our first stop was Rifle Falls State Park, which had a super waterfall. It also had another really fun attraction in its 100 acres: caves.

 They were all small caves, and Desert Boy delighted in exploring. Okay, Mom did, too.

 I found the water line in this cave fascinating. (and I tried to ignore yet more dirty clothes!)

 We could see the falls from the entrance of one of the caves.

 We took the trail and enjoyed the hike that goes up and around the falls.

Then it was back into the van and driving time.

 I couldn't resist a photo of the Utah dinosaur sign. Desert Boy was very excited about seeing dinosaurs, as we had decided to take a roundabout way back so we could visit Dinosaur National Monument. As it turned out, the last shuttle to the quarry left at 1:15 p.m., so we couldn't see it. The main visitor center that is being built to replace the condemned one won't open until October, so we went into the small temporary one and saw a couple dinosaur bones on display.

Desert Boy also earned a junior ranger badge, his first one. We'll have to go back to see the quarry and explore the beautiful canyons and take a rafting trip in the national monument.

We had lots more driving to get home, with nothing noteworthy on the way. It was good to be back home, but we sure enjoyed our trip a lot!

More Colorado

 There's a lot to do around Glenwood Springs. One evening we went up the tram to Glenwood Adventure Park. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and when we got off the tram I was mildly surprised to find a fairly large amusement park. Desert Boy was my date, but he was a little too small for some of the rides.

 He was a great size for the cave tour through Glenwood Caverns, and we had the added bonus of going with a family with kids so all the kids kept each other entertained. Plus, the grandpa was one of the early cavers in the cave and told us stories about his exploration trips.

 The kids had some dancing moves for one of the platforms!

 Then it was time for some other activities, including crawling through this wooden box.

What, you say, are you doing crawling through a wooden box?

 Why, it was the Speleobox! Desert Boy went in and I had to follow. And it seemed to go on forever. Five levels high, and you go up and then come down. It was tight, and I got bruises from it. I saw about eight people in it at the same time.

Desert Boy was much faster than me going through it, and by the time I had gotten out, he had headed back in. I peeked through the cracks to watch his progress.

 Somehow he managed to pass a couple of people.

 He could go on his hands and knees, but for adults it was a belly/side/back crawl, with some interesting contortion moves. Desert Boy thought it was very easy, even with shoes on the wrong feet! We thought one person had gotten stuck and the manager came with a drill to remove some boards. But the person was able to keep going, so no board removal was necessary. Looking closely at the screws, it was obvious some speleobox rescues had been completed in the past!

 Cavers were just starting to dance to a great band. Desert Boy didn't want to slow down to dance, though.

 He headed into the maze with a new friend and they rushed to get to all the towers and back out in a fast time so they could get a prize.

 Then it was time for the fun coaster slide. I didn't get the camera out until we were heading back up! We wanted to do it again, but the line was long.

 Anther fun thing to do around Glenwood Springs is the bike trail next to the Colorado River. Most of it was closed due to flooding, but about five miles of it was open.

 Desert Boy rode about half of it. The best part for him was when the trains went by. There were a lot of freight trains!

 I'm not sure what the town of Glenwood Springs thought about 1,000+ cavers descending on the town, many of them camping next to the Roaring Fork River.

 Folks often camped with their grotto (caving club). I particularly liked the sign above.

 This wasn't just any campground, it had a sauna and a hot tub.

I didn't get many photos of the campground. I guess if you want to see more, plan on heading to the next NSS Convention, in West Virginia next summer. I'm sure it will be fun.