As many of you know, we have been observing salamander eggs that were hatched in a creek in Fountain Inn. We watched one salamander hatch, but it isn't alive anymore. The log has been sitting in a basin of water for a couple of weeks. We noticed yesterday that something was swimming around. It was small like the salamander, but was swimming more quickly and was a dark red color, with red rings that looked like segments. Mrs. LeCroy scooped it out to get a closer look, and before our eyes, it changed (through Metamorphosis) from a pupa to an adult insect. We didn't have a clue as to what it was or the resources to find out. So, we contacted some professors at Winthrop and they directed us to Dr. Paula Mitchell. Dr. Mitchell was so helpful and was eager to take a look at our insect so we could identify it. So today, Ms. Pickering carried our insect to Winthrop University for our expert to examine it closer with a high-powered microscope. Dr. Paula Mitchell, the entomologist (someone who studies insects), moved our insect to a smaller container to make her observations. Take a look: So, I searched several sites looking for more information on Midges. I came across this webpage at Clemson. Click here to take a look. I definitely learned a lot about Midges. Ours probably won't live past 10 days. Dr. Mitchell suggested putting sugar water (1/11 sugar and 10/11 water) in a cotton ball. We placed the cotton ball in a bottle cap so that it wasn't mixed with the freshwater. It may eat the sugar water, but so far it has had no interest in eating. I read it's sole purpose in becoming an adult is to reproduce, then it dies! It spends most of its time at the bottom of creeks and ponds feeding off of the organic matter (cleaning the water) in its larval stage. It still was EXTREMELY cool (and scary) to watch it transform from pupa to adult through metamorphosis!
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We had so much fun in Charleston! Thank you for supporting our third graders and the learning that took place on Friday! (Thanks Meghan's mom for the pictures!)So we are apparently full of life in this third grade classroom! Today we noticed something swimming around in the basin that was holding our salamander eggs. (I know, I know, I should have cleaned it out a couple of weeks ago!) Ms. Pickering saw something swimming around and I scooped it out to get a closer look (with a small cup). Within seconds, it was molting and had WINGS, LEGS, and ANTENAE! Completely scared out if my mind, I quickly handed (ha ha) the cup back to Ms. Pickering to go set outside before it flew out if the cup! I made a container with a tight lid and air holes for it to stay in until we figure out what it is! Creepy! No matter how scared I am of bugs, ultimately, I had to keep it! After all, we had just watched complete metamorphosis before our eyes! We will keep you posted on what we learn from our Biologist at Winthrop. Here's some pictures: We are so sad! The salamander that hatched in our room died today. We were told they were very hard to keep alive. This is the last good picture we have of it. We hope we are able to narrow down its species sometime this week. We will never know what his adult stage looks like. My sister searched all afternoon in the creek to find more eggs. She saw none. |
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