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A Day in the Life of a Scientist

Sorting wasps for DNA extraction

5/11/2015

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Picture
Mustard is using forceps to handle the tiny wasps
Today we started sorting some of the specimens that are in our lab fridges. These specimens are stored in ethanol, which helps preserve the DNA of the insects. We are sorting through the wasps in the vials to pull out any of the microgastrines (the wasps we are studying) so that we can use them in our project.

These wasps have come from a Bush Blitz survey. Bush Blitz is Australia's largest nature discovery project - teams of scientists head out to remote locations all over Australia and build a catalogue of the flora and fauna of that area. Over 900 new species have been discovered on Bush Blitz surveys since they began in 2010! If you're a teacher, you can even head out with the scientists and teach live back to your classroom, sharing your discoveries with your class! 

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