Today started off on a rather abrupt note, as I experienced firsthand the luxurious smoothness of snakeskin, except it was on my neck at 3 AM. I happen to have a very high, powerful soprano voice, yet the cabins nearby did not wake up, so only eight of us in total lost some sleep in the incident. It was all dealt with very smoothly, and we went back to sleep after the snake had been properly macheted. The snake itself was a juvenile bird-eater, that is, non-venomous and not harmful.
After an auspicious morning, we started in on some morning science classes. The night previously, we went over the scientific method that we would be using for our experiments, as well as observing ants and picking Adrian Pinto's brain about every aspect of a leaf-cutter ant's life. With the fresh knowledge from the night before, we went out along the trails at Finca La Anita and saw many different types of colonies. Primitive fungus-growing ants, Atta cephalotes, Atta colombica, and Acromyrmex all live on the property here, and we watched Dr. Adrian and his associate, Ibrahim, excavate colonies. Afterwards, we split up into groups and excavated fungus gardens (complete with queens) for ourselves. The queens are massive compared to her worker daughters, and apparently taste like peanuts. Of course, none of us sampled the queens because we'll need them for experiments later on. Interestingly enough, the ants are somewhat like pitbulls in that they clamp their mandibles and refuse to let go. For this reason, ants from the larger soldier caste can be used as emergency sutures if a victim is skilled enough to close the mandibles around the wound before removing the body, leaving behind a stunning vice-grip to hold a wound closed. Of course, if a button pops off your shirt while hiking, they can fix that too.
Today's field trip was spectacular - ziplining! Though it took quite a bit of hiking through lush jungle and rickety bridges to reach the platforms, the views were astounding throughout the entire excursion. From the top of the platforms we could see the canopy, fields of grazing cows, and mountain peaks obscured by fog further on. A few gibbons made an appearance after hearing all of us screaming and flying through the trees. They must have thought us to be the overgrown, graceless primate cousins as they swung through the canopy in search of fruit.
After the exhilarating afternoon outing, we finished the day with some more science. We conducted our first experiment, microbial sampling. The object was to find the most ideal microbial host in Finca La Anita, or at least generalize what a good host must be. Through the coming days, we'll get the results of our experiment. Many groups wanted to sample the farm dogs, Doctor Bombay and Vito Corleone, but they weren't cooperative this evening.
Today was certainly a day of facing fears, whether they were heights, snakes, or getting bitten by the ants. However, the entire group faced all the challenges with minimal shrieking, and I'd like to think that most of the shrieks were in delight.
--Camille Jones
