Memoirs of a Light-Trapper: expeditions and experiments in light-trapping pt. 1

Hey ya'll

Chasing after butterflies and other flying insects with a net can be great fun during the day, but catching nocturnal insects is a totally different ball game altogether. It is, after all, not very practical for one to go traipsing about in the forests in pitch darkness while waving a net blindly around in hopes of accidentally catching something that flies by! As such many entomologists and lepidopterists have developed, over the years, a variety of techniques and methods that are quite reliable at attracting insects for the purposes of study or collection. The most efficient of all these, is probably light trapping. Light trapping is basically a method of attracting insects that involves the use of a light source (usually a mercury vapor bulb, or some other source that emits UV light). The light is often dispersed through the use of a white cloth (that can greatly increase the light's surface area) and functions as a veritable beacon that attracts moths, beetles, and any large number of flying insects to its surface. Think of a bug zapper, but on a larger scale. And minus the deadly electricity. Insects attached to the white cloth may then be studied in closer detail, photographed, or collected depending on its purpose.

Recently, I've had the opportunity of conducting one such expedition which took place in the form of a mini experiment. Two light traps were set with different bulbs, one emitting a specturm of UVA (orange/warm light), the other of UVB (white light). Through the course of the night we discovered that different insects were attracted to different spectrum of light. While the UVA bulb seemed to attract more insects on the initial stage, many of them eventually shifted their focus over to the UVB bulb where they proceeded to swarm and seethe in a writhing mass of antennae, legs, and wings. The diversity of insects which arrived was also, to say the least, quite astounding and we had (in addition to moths of just about every shape, size, and color) some very attractive looking beetles and cicadas. Below are some of the amazing insects that were attracted to our light traps that night.

These are some of the moths that were attracted to our light traps. Among all the insects that eventually came to the traps and stayed, I'd have to say that the moths were the most numerous. Most of them were small and brilliantly patterned, although we would eventually come across several sphingiids and saturniids as well. Geometriids were the most common and most of these came in various shades of yellow or green, many similarly patterned with geometrical map-like markings on both wings. 

We eventually nicknamed this moth "Hellboy" until a more concise definition
can be offered.

Aside from moths, the traps also attracted more than their fair share of cicadas! The large insects are clumsy fliers and, after slamming unceremoniously into the light bulbs and walls repeatedly, they would often crash onto the ground where they remained, seemingly in a state of stupor. They were so stunned by this I could even pick them up and place them side by side on my outstretched palm with little or no effect. 

Cicadas came in all shapes and sizes that night! We counted no less than 6 different species that were attracted to the traps. 

There were also an astounding diversity of beetles at our traps. Of all the insects, these were perhaps the worst! Beetles are clumsy fliers at best and when in a state of fright, have sharp claws that they can use to devastating effect. I had many bad experiences with beetles that fell down my color and proceeded to dig their claws into any portion of my skin they happened to come into contact with that the time! I shall take note to wear tighter fitting clothes when I try this again in the future! Most of the beetles weren't particularly remarkable, but we did find several of the long horn (Cerambycidae) and rhinoceros (Dynastidae) variety. Some of these, I ended up keeping, for virtue of their unique appearances! Second note to self: long horn beetles have fearsome jaws and can deliver quite a bite!!! 

The largest cerambycidae that was attracted to our traps that night. It measured several inches from head to tip of abdomen and eventually managed to bite hard enough to crack the flimsy plastic lid of the container.

Of all the other insects that were attracted, most were aletes, the winged generation of various ants and termite species whose identification simply goes beyond my capabilities. There was also a stick insect that somehow found its way there, and a rather opportunistic praying mantis. There really are a lot more pictures to go through, and I will upload them in the second part of this blog post when our photographer, Miss Joanne Tong, has sorted them out from her camera. Until then, Happy Monday.

Cheers, 

Cyren.

Artist, Lepidopterist, Woman: Celebrating the Life and Work Maria Sibylla Merian

Hey ya'll

When celebrating the contributions of some of the great women in history, it is often easy to overlook (among all the humanitarians among great women) the women who were involved in the documentation of natural history such as Maria Sibylla Merian. Maria, a naturalist and scientific illustrator, was not only one of the first woman to be actively involved in the field of natural history (then considered a primarily/if not exclusively male domain) but also the first to carefully observe and document the life cycle of insects thus making her one of the most significant contributors to the field of entomology. It is therefore of much appreciation that Google chose to feature, and celebrate her life yesterday by changing their header in commemoration of her 366th birthday. 

Early Life

Maria Sibylla Merian circa 1700

For much of her early life, Maria Sibylla Merian exhibited a fascination for insects! Having been encouraged to take up drawing and painting by her stepfather, Merian eventually began to utilize her talent to document and illustrate the various creepy crawlies that she encountered. Of particular interest to her, not surprisingly, was the metamorphosis of caterpillars into butterflies and moths. 

I spent my time investigating insects. At the beginning, I started with silk worms in my home town of Frankfurt. I realized that other caterpillars produced beautiful butterflies or moths, and that silkworms did the same. This led me to collect all the caterpillars I could find in order to see how they changed. 

In Holland, with much astonishment what beautiful animals came from the East and West Indies. I was blessed with having been able to look at both the expensive collection of Doctor Nicolaas Witsen, mayor of Amsterdam and director of the East Indies Society, and that of Mr. Jonas Witsen, secretary of Amsterdam. Moreover I also saw the collections of Mr Fredericus Ruysch, doctor of medicine and professor of anatomy and botany, Mr. Livinnus Vincent, and many other people. In these collections I had found innumerable other insects, but finally if here their origin and reproduction is unknown, it begs the question as to how they transform, starting from caterpillars and chrysalises and so on. 

(Foreword from Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium)

Contributions to Science 

a plate from Metamorphosis insectorum
Surinamensium

As evinced from her foreword, it would therefore seem that though an interest and study in natural history was quite dispersed at the time, not many people displayed an explicit interest in the origin and life cycles of many of their insect specimens. This in turn might be retrospectively attributed to the common belief in those times that insects were "Beasts of the Devil" and thus, spontaneously generated from the ground. As an amateur lepidopterist, Merian's work with butterflies and moths, and a grand total of 186 insect species might therefore be said to be pioneering in that it was one of, if not THE first work to document insect lifestyle and evolution with such attention to detail.

Plate from Metamorphosis Insectorum
Surinamensium

Conversely though it can be argued that there were some local scholars of the time who had already been aware of the life cycles of butterflies or moths, it could also similarly be opined that not many of them truly understood this process. It was Merian's work, for example, that first illustrated the fact that caterpillars were often dependent on specific host plants and that eggs were often laid close to, or on these plants for ease of the developing larvae.  In addition to her work with insects, Merian successfully discovered and described a whole range of animals and plants in the interior of Surinam. Her classification for butterflies and moths and her use of Native American names to refer to the various species of plants she encountered is still relevant in the field of science today. In fact, the infamous "bird eating" spiders of South American probably owe their reputation and name to a drawing made by Merian depicting such a spider devouring a small bird.

A Curious Woman in a Man's World

a plate taken from Metamorphosis insectorum
Surinamensium

Although much of Merian's work, such as Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, and The Caterpillar's Marvelous Transformation and Strange Floral Food were very popular in high society as a result of its publication in the vernacular, much of Merian's work was continuously largely ignored by many within the scientific community at a time when the official language of science was considered to be latin. Similarly, many male scientists, who had never set foot in Suriname themselves, claimed her to be a fraud. Naturalists like the Reverand Lansdown Guilding dismissed her description of army ants and bird eating spiders stating that "Madame Merian has told a willfull falsehood." Such criticisms and accusations would eventually take a toll on her reputation as a careful observer of nature.

Furthermore, while scientific surveys of natural wildlife were not exactly uncommon at the time, they were usually carried out by men who were already being sent to colonies to live, or work, there. Consequently, Merian's decision to self fund her own expedition in pursuit of her interest raised many eyebrows especially over the fact that she was a woman. Despite the doubt of others, Merian's perseverence and tenacity paid off and in 1699, the city of Amsterdam sponsored her petition to travel to Suriname in South America. During stay, Merian traveled between the various colonies, documenting any plant or insect life she came upon there. "In the era of investigation dominate by the collection and classification of organisms, Merian's organic apporach to the study of natural history was unusual and was not always understood by her fellow scholars," (Etheridge, 2010: 19). Incidentally, her observations on the metamorphosis of frogs was the first to ever be recorded with such accuracy. She also took note of the natives and black slaves that were then employed by Dutch planters and is often quoted to be quite critical of the treatment of the Dutch masters over these people.

Late Life

Plate from Metamorphosis Insectorum
Surinamensium

Barely 2 years into her expedition, however, Maria contracted a case of malaria and was forced to return prematurely to the Netherlands. There she spent her life selling the specimens she had collected and publishing engravings of the plant and animal life she had encountered in Surinam. In 1705, she published the world famous Metamorphosis Insectorum Surninamensium. In 1715 at age 67, Merian suffered from a stroke which greatly affected her ability to work. Not much is known about her later life from this point on except that she is listed in a registry as being a pauper. Merian died, two years later in Amsterdam. Her work was only rediscovered, recognized and reprinted in the last quarter of the 20th century. 

Merian and her work is continued to be recognized in this day and age, and her likeness has graced both the likes of stamps and currency but it is arguable that not many people have actually come to recognize and appreciate her contributions to the field of science with specificity to the field of entomology. As a feminist, and an amateur lepidopterist myself, I suppose you could say that I have come to deeply admire Merian and have a strong sense of appreciation for her work (I even have a few of her prints that I intend to frame and display alongside my butterfly and moth collection someday). Perhaps, when I begin conducting my own field studies in the Northern part of Malaysia, I can undertake a similar personal project of my own! It is therefore with much praise and approval that I publish this post in conjunction with Google's tribute and celebration of her Meria Sibylla Merian's: artist, amateur lepidopterist, woman.

Cheers,
Cyren.

References and further reading:

1. http://naturalhistory.mse.jhu.edu/ChronologicalTour/ChT_Merian.html
2. http://home.wtal.de/hh/merian/mdeu.htm
3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/maria-sibylla-merian-doodle-naturally-google-celebrates-the-artists-evergreen-legacy/2013/04/02/8f6f1cc2-9b84-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_blog.html
4. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/grrlscientist/2013/apr/02/maria-sibylla-merian-artist-insects-science
5. http://public.gettysburg.edu/~ketherid/Endeavor.pdf
6. Etheridge, K. (2010), "Maria Sibylla Merian and the metamorphosis of natural history," in Endeavor, vol. 25(1), pp. 15-21

What we really do... (Lepidopterist)

Hey ya'll 

so there's always been some confusion, I feel, about the general public and their perception of the "work" lepidopterists do. Indeed when I meet people who've come upon my blog for the first time, I am often asked the question: so exactly what is it that you "study" about butterflies. Well, the truth is... everything!!! Or rather, everything I possibly can with what knowledge and (limited) scientific background I have. It could be something as straightforward as observing their behavioral habits in the wild, to something more personal, like raising their larvae and breeding them in captivity for conservatory purposes. Indeed, at times (though not often admittedly) it is more "heavy" with all sorts of reading and research to just know more in general about the species. Anyway, I was dealing with some of these questions the other day when I inexplicably thought about the "What we really do" meme that has been circling the internet. When a quick google search turned up nothing for lepidopterist associated memes, I decided that it was about high time I made one myself. And that is exactly how I wasted my time what I did all this morning!!! You will excuse the uneven coloring and lack of shading but I am without my photoshop for the time being (an artist with only Microsoft Paint to work with is like a starving man being offered breadcrumbs!!!), but perhaps this will give you some humorous insight into what it really means to be a lepidopterist. 

ps. The last panel is my salute/tribute to the wonderful online community whose generosity and camaraderie in terms of sharing knowledge, information and ideas, has been most appreciated and valued throughout the years!!! Thanks guys!!!

Cheers,
Cyren