Day 3: The Day of the Ants

Once upon a time 16 students and their chaperones adventured down to do some research on the ants in Costa Rica. After an evening of situating and a day of observation/learning, they finally applied their science to the ant genus species, Atta cephalotes! Today was day #3 in their rainforest and we worked with Dr. Adrien Pinto to take a look at the ants ourselves. The entire day was sunny and warm with the occasional refreshing breeze and perfect for outdoor activity. Throughout the ranch we applied the same process within our groups of 4: locate an Atta colony, dig carefully down the tunnel, locate the fungus within the colony, and extract the fungus garden carefully for research (bonus if you are able to collect the queen too!). The real challenge throughout the entire study was not getting attacked and bitten by the ants themselves! Soldier ants are much bigger than the rest of the ants in the colony and will loyally defend their colony against the evil human giants (us, unfortunately). 

For those of you not familiar with our ant-related work, you should know that the fungus garden are softball/tennis ball sized and are spongy looking. Also, the soil here is mostly clay-like so it makes for interesting digging!

After our ant adventure we had a break for lunch and went on to our next activity: zip lining! It was a new experience for many members of our group but everyone bravely participated (despite some fears) and thoroughly enjoyed themselves! We climbed up into the mountains, following our guides, and were able to spot Capuchin Monkeys climbing up in the forest canopy above us. The white helmets, leather gloves, and harnesses looked fabulous on everyone. 

Before dinner there was a small break in which students could use their time as they pleased. Five of revisited the village and bought ice cream from a local woman there (those of us who spoke Spanish did great in self-initiated conversation!). Dinner itself consisted of pork chop with a dressing, spinach soup, green beans, and other delicious items. We ended the day with a few videos about ants and discussion with Dr. Adrian Pinto. The day was filled with photography, hiking, interesting animals, cool food, and new experiences around every corner. Tomorrow is packed with more excitement but today’s story ends here! Goodnight everyone!

PS: A miracle arrived on my cabin door steps this morning....MY SUITCASE! It was mistakenly taken by a St. Catherine’s University student when we landed from the airport. What a surprise it must have been for him to open it up! The other girls and students were very helpful during my days of only one outfit and calculus homework (somehow it survived).

PSS: The Minnesotan daylight savings time automatically reset on all of our devices down here in Costa Rica, where they do not have daylight savings. We were all up an hour earlier than we needed to be, but we used our time for extra fun.

-Maddi G.