Post by Blem12 on Mar 30, 2013 0:54:58 GMT
Wow, how do I begin? Haha, well for starters, it was such a fantastic, thrilling and exciting experience
meeting Mark! He is such an inspiring and funny guy!
How did I meet Mark? You must be asking yourself? Well, it was through a company called "Footsteps production" as I had worked with them previously and they had told me that they were doing a program called "My Hero". They knew about my ant passion and my aspirations onto becoming an Entomologist/Myrmecologist and contacted Mark, to see if he would like to do the show. He said yes, and because of this, I landed in Austin, Texas 6 days ago to meet him in person and have the chance to do a lot of exciting things which would then be filmed!
We did so many things, from lab work to being at the University of Texas attending his lectures. Wow oh wow! It was all as if I were in a magical dream! And to top it all of, he gave me his book "Adventures Among Ants" and it was signed and had a large drawing of an ant and two very small drawings of him and I with the following caption;
- Mark: " They say everything is bigger in Texas"
- Me: "Oh wow!"
Such a enthralling adventure I must say! First of all, I met Mark at the Brackenridge Field Laboratory, which was quite funny as he accidentally messed up in front of the camera as he opened the door before time thus making me know that he was just behind the main door. I remember vividly how fast my heart was beating just before meeting Mark, I was ecstatic! As I took each step towards the door, my heart beat increased and so did my excitement! It was as if all those happy emotions were circulating throughout my whole body as I felt a tingling sensation just before opening the door I was so thrilled! Once I had finally met Mark we talked about the flight and afterwards we began filming.
At the lab, we talked about the tasks that he had set me, we did an experiment which consisted in observing how a fire ant colony would make a raft rather than drowning under water. Unfortunately, this was a bit of a failure as most of them had quite a bit of trouble organising themselves and making the raft. Our hypothesis was that they did not do very well due to the fact that we tipped them in the water rather than slowly pouring the water onto them. After that, I was shown many of the ant species they had in their "Ant room" which did indeed smell like ants, haha. One of the species was an arboreal ant species (Pseudomyrmex) which were really impressive to see up close!
After that, we went into another room. This room had a specific set up which enabled us to observe how several Phorid flies attacked worker ants and how successful they really were, as one of the lab's focus points at the time, was the investigation on how to control the invasive fire ant (Solenopsis invicta). Seeing all of this, just made me happier and happier. I could not believe that I was really there with Mark.
Once we had finished the lab work, we went onto doing some field work on the grounds of the laboratory. It was really brilliant, as we got up close with the leaf cutter ants (Atta texana), fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) and many others such as Crematogaster. sp , Brachymyrmex andieven got to see a few Ponerine ant species! The Crematogaster were quite difficult to find, as Mark and I only saw a few workers here and there, but finally, we had found out that they were residing within a dead upright trunk of wood. The leaf cutter nests were huge and once we had made them a bit angry (by stomping around the outskirts of the nest) they all hurriedly came out, ready to attack and defend their colony. We picked up a few soldiers and showed them to the camera. I I received a small wound as a small souvenir as the soldier would not let go of my finger! Hehehe! I learnt that quite a big percentage of their mandibles, is actually made out of zinc!
During the fieldwork, I lifted a small piece of dead wood and to my surprise I saw what seemed like a snake and without even thinking, I just gently grabbed it by the tail! Hahaha, I showed Mark, and we identified it as a Worm Snake. I also saw a small lizard but unfortunately, it got away.
The next day, we went to the University, where we observed two leaf cutter ant colonies and their fungus! Mark and I even ate a tiny piece of fungus which was quite tasty (not really)
At the University, I attended one of Mark's lectures which was great, even though I didn't understand some of the vocabulary and specific terms, as it was aimed at the University undergraduates but nevertheless, it was so cool just being there and listening to Mark! This lecture was mainly comparing human societies and ant societies which at the end, got a bit heated up as one of the students didn't stop questioning some of Mark's points.
We then all had lunch (the camera crew, Mark and Rob) at a Tex-Mex which was really nice as the food was very tasty and succulent! By the way, Rob Plowes is another great Entomologist.
Then at night, we went to see another talk which Mark was giving outside the lab. This one was aimed at the general public so it was quite easier to understand. With Mark's humour, everyone was really enjoying it, including myself.
Finally, we have also agreed that within a couple of years we would go and do an expedition in the Amazon basin!
I really had the best time of my life, as I clearly remember, how difficult it would be for me to sleep each night wondering what we would do the next day as everything was kept as a surprise by the crew. Just typing about it, sends my emotions rushing and dominating my thoughts. Mark even gave me very useful tips and just today, I went to the natural history museum in order to join an Entomological society which Mark had recommended me to do so.
In conclusion, an awe-inspiring experience which has inspired me even more onto becoming an Entomologist (even though I was already sure of this) and has allowed me to meet such a great individual and have a taste of what the life of an Entomologist really is. I will never forget this experience and I am really grateful to have had this great opportunity and meeting someone as wonderful as Mark! I just can't wait for the next adventure!
Here are a few pics! :-)
Blem12.
meeting Mark! He is such an inspiring and funny guy!
How did I meet Mark? You must be asking yourself? Well, it was through a company called "Footsteps production" as I had worked with them previously and they had told me that they were doing a program called "My Hero". They knew about my ant passion and my aspirations onto becoming an Entomologist/Myrmecologist and contacted Mark, to see if he would like to do the show. He said yes, and because of this, I landed in Austin, Texas 6 days ago to meet him in person and have the chance to do a lot of exciting things which would then be filmed!
We did so many things, from lab work to being at the University of Texas attending his lectures. Wow oh wow! It was all as if I were in a magical dream! And to top it all of, he gave me his book "Adventures Among Ants" and it was signed and had a large drawing of an ant and two very small drawings of him and I with the following caption;
- Mark: " They say everything is bigger in Texas"
- Me: "Oh wow!"
Such a enthralling adventure I must say! First of all, I met Mark at the Brackenridge Field Laboratory, which was quite funny as he accidentally messed up in front of the camera as he opened the door before time thus making me know that he was just behind the main door. I remember vividly how fast my heart was beating just before meeting Mark, I was ecstatic! As I took each step towards the door, my heart beat increased and so did my excitement! It was as if all those happy emotions were circulating throughout my whole body as I felt a tingling sensation just before opening the door I was so thrilled! Once I had finally met Mark we talked about the flight and afterwards we began filming.
At the lab, we talked about the tasks that he had set me, we did an experiment which consisted in observing how a fire ant colony would make a raft rather than drowning under water. Unfortunately, this was a bit of a failure as most of them had quite a bit of trouble organising themselves and making the raft. Our hypothesis was that they did not do very well due to the fact that we tipped them in the water rather than slowly pouring the water onto them. After that, I was shown many of the ant species they had in their "Ant room" which did indeed smell like ants, haha. One of the species was an arboreal ant species (Pseudomyrmex) which were really impressive to see up close!
After that, we went into another room. This room had a specific set up which enabled us to observe how several Phorid flies attacked worker ants and how successful they really were, as one of the lab's focus points at the time, was the investigation on how to control the invasive fire ant (Solenopsis invicta). Seeing all of this, just made me happier and happier. I could not believe that I was really there with Mark.
Once we had finished the lab work, we went onto doing some field work on the grounds of the laboratory. It was really brilliant, as we got up close with the leaf cutter ants (Atta texana), fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) and many others such as Crematogaster. sp , Brachymyrmex andieven got to see a few Ponerine ant species! The Crematogaster were quite difficult to find, as Mark and I only saw a few workers here and there, but finally, we had found out that they were residing within a dead upright trunk of wood. The leaf cutter nests were huge and once we had made them a bit angry (by stomping around the outskirts of the nest) they all hurriedly came out, ready to attack and defend their colony. We picked up a few soldiers and showed them to the camera. I I received a small wound as a small souvenir as the soldier would not let go of my finger! Hehehe! I learnt that quite a big percentage of their mandibles, is actually made out of zinc!
During the fieldwork, I lifted a small piece of dead wood and to my surprise I saw what seemed like a snake and without even thinking, I just gently grabbed it by the tail! Hahaha, I showed Mark, and we identified it as a Worm Snake. I also saw a small lizard but unfortunately, it got away.
The next day, we went to the University, where we observed two leaf cutter ant colonies and their fungus! Mark and I even ate a tiny piece of fungus which was quite tasty (not really)
At the University, I attended one of Mark's lectures which was great, even though I didn't understand some of the vocabulary and specific terms, as it was aimed at the University undergraduates but nevertheless, it was so cool just being there and listening to Mark! This lecture was mainly comparing human societies and ant societies which at the end, got a bit heated up as one of the students didn't stop questioning some of Mark's points.
We then all had lunch (the camera crew, Mark and Rob) at a Tex-Mex which was really nice as the food was very tasty and succulent! By the way, Rob Plowes is another great Entomologist.
Then at night, we went to see another talk which Mark was giving outside the lab. This one was aimed at the general public so it was quite easier to understand. With Mark's humour, everyone was really enjoying it, including myself.
Finally, we have also agreed that within a couple of years we would go and do an expedition in the Amazon basin!
I really had the best time of my life, as I clearly remember, how difficult it would be for me to sleep each night wondering what we would do the next day as everything was kept as a surprise by the crew. Just typing about it, sends my emotions rushing and dominating my thoughts. Mark even gave me very useful tips and just today, I went to the natural history museum in order to join an Entomological society which Mark had recommended me to do so.
In conclusion, an awe-inspiring experience which has inspired me even more onto becoming an Entomologist (even though I was already sure of this) and has allowed me to meet such a great individual and have a taste of what the life of an Entomologist really is. I will never forget this experience and I am really grateful to have had this great opportunity and meeting someone as wonderful as Mark! I just can't wait for the next adventure!
Here are a few pics! :-)
Blem12.
I am so glad you enjoyed it, away from this freezing weather too. A chance in a lifetime , but you never know what lies ahead?
