Sun, sweat and stings - a typical wasps day

I have just realised how long it has been since I have written a blog post and for this I apologise.

Things have been completely hectic here recently and there has hardly been moments to find time to sleep and eat let alone to share some storied with you all. However today I have managed to find some time and so I thought I would share with you what happens on a very typical wasp day out in the field. 

To start we leave Panama city and cross the entire width of the country (this only takes an hour) to the Province of Colon. This area, once a rich part of Central America due to the stashes of gold left by the real Pirates of the Caribbean, is now a truly impoverished area of Panama, with many people still living in slum like conditions and an associated high crime rate. It is also a really important area of Panama as there is the huge port of Colon where the Canal reaches the Caribbean. After competing with the trailer trucks hailing vast containers to and from the port along a rather bumpy road we reach the protected area of Punta Galeta which I have spoke about in previous posts.

Once there we kit up wit all the stuff we will need for the day and head off to see the wasps.

Days typically start with a census of all the nests, looking for and marking new wasps that appear on our nests. 

Sol censusing a nest

We give carefully take them of the nest with forceps hold them tightly in our fingers and glue on a unique markings tag.

Sometimes when marking a whole new nest we simply grab all the wasps using a zip-lock bag - very technical!

Bag of wasps anyone!

Using a pair of callipers we then measure their wings to get an indication of sizes of individuals which can be used in analysis later on.

Sol measuring a wasp

All this information gets put into our two very beautiful assistant iPads which Sol and I love dearly! 

This is 21st Century Science!!

As I many have mentioned to many of your before our wasps live in old abandoned buildings and one sight we use is called "the antenna". This was once the headquarters of a American Military Communication facility that investigated drug trafficing and used by spy's in South America (all very secretive) it was such a secure unit that it is not even listen on any maps! 

Since being abandoned nearly 10years ago it has been gutted by local people for things to sell and created a little heaven for wasps.

After finishing our marking census we then get all the other jobs done during the day this can be anything from filming the nests, standing up a ladder and conducting behaviroual observations, chopping heads off and mapping the brood (more info on all of these to come in later post).

Another one of me with the iPads

And thats it, Sounds easy huh! We you think that when you write it down but in reality they are very long, hot and sweaty days! Have you every had to wear a pair of washing up gloves all day in 36degree heat? We do and I have to tell you the state and smell of your hands after that is really rather unpleasant!

Days without stings 55……. not sure how much longer my luck will last!

A thank you must go to Sol's friend Tatiana for coming to the field with us for one day and taking all these great snaps of us working.