Splatometer and onward

[Bailey and Bjorklund]

Between 2:30 and 8:00 p.m. local time yesterday we spent part of our time
driving around hitting bugs.  A thought that did not occur to me at 6:30 we
stopped to eat our sandwiches on the tailgate of our gas guzzler.   At that
time, I casually noted on the grill were dragonflies.

It was only this morning that I realized that I better do a thorough review
of my carnage - and I better do it before the wasps were up and about
scouring for likely vehicle grills to feed on.

"What are you doing?"
"Going out to look at the dragonflies on the truck's front."
"Them and grasshoppers."

It is amazing what you do for science before breakfast.  But what a
surprise.  No dragonflies were left on the grill, nor were there any
grasshoppers.  Dead wasps and what are locally called heel flies because
they are stirred up by cattle and horses.

It all makes me wonder how wasp populations have been affected by the
technological marvels of us infidels.  New food sources for some wasps with
subsequent population increases; the others - who knows?

A life's study: The Correlation between Vehicle Grill Designs and Wasp
Populations.

And, yes, we did see some butterflies while travelling 100 miles and walking
around the grasslands:

Common Checkered Skipper 1
Western White  5+
Cabbage White  20+
Clouded Sulphur  100+
Orange Sulphur  1
Purplish Copper   2
Fritillary sp.   2
Milbert's Tortoiseshell 5+
Red Admiral   1
Common Wood Nymph 1

A goodly number of species for this time of the year.  But the totals per
species were low even though there is still a profusion of flowering plants.


Martin Bailey.

Greetings from:
Weyburn, SK.
49.39 N 103.51W


 
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