On the weekend, Mustard and I headed out to set up malaise traps to catch some wasps. A malaise trap looks a bit like a tent - the wasps accidentally fly into the cloth, and then they tend to make their way up to the top of the 'tent' where they are caught in a bottle of ethanol. It's not very nice, having to trap and kill insects to be able to study them, but at the moment it's the only way we can collect enough samples for DNA analysis. We're definitely not affecting enough to alter their population levels or impact their place in the ecosystem.
We set up a few different malaise traps in different locations, to see if there are different species of wasp in different parts of Adelaide, and in different vegetation. We'll leave them up now for a couple of weeks - and we'll let you know what we find when we go and collect the bottles!
One of the best parts of being a entomologist is doing field work - getting to walk around on a beautiful day in a conservation park and call it work!
One of the best parts of being a entomologist is doing field work - getting to walk around on a beautiful day in a conservation park and call it work!
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 We found a kangaroo carcass. It smelt pretty bad! |  |
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