“How will we get them to come back to Bug Night?” asked the male White Coat, “I worry about losing momentum and interest after taking off last week for that conference presentation.” The male White Coat wrung his hands. The things he worried about, the female White Coat thought. She was busy counting chocolate bars […]
They seemed like an odd trio. One was nattily dressed and sported a neatly trimmed beard. One appeared to be a banker in a sharkskin suit and was clean shaven. The other sported a timeless, segmented exoskeleton and antennae. They clustered at the back door of the laboratory building, shading their eyes to peer in. […]
“But see, the brush-like labrum is clearly visible so it is definitely a Philopotamidae,” said the male White Coat. It was clear that the female White Coat was not convinced. “I can’t see any labrum,” she said but there was something there—it could have been detritus on the bug or her poor eyesight. Maybe it […]
“There’s not a lot of parking with these mountains of snow from the blizzard,” observed the nervous parental Bug Night-er. “Look, there are helpful drones to lead us to the larger parking lot across the road,” said the larvae, “I think I read about it in the Bug Night of the Living Dead flyer.” The […]
“It’s a shambles,” observed a Bug Night-er as she looked around the laboratory, “We should have done more to help Mr. White Coat—he has been alone with us all evening.” The sole White Coat did not hear this observation. He was running figure eights around the rooms while returning the appropriate ‘scopes to the upper […]
“Do I have detritus on my face, Mr. White Coat?” she asked, “I used your method of cleaning the sieve and I am afraid that I might have sprayed some sample on me.” The White Coat man tried to look and see but the light wasn’t good. Someone—or something—was blocking the light. It looked like […]
It had been barely a week since the last Bug Night and the volunteer was already yearning for me macroinvertebrates. “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana,” he said. “Snow flies like a colembola,” said the spry and spritely springtail, “Is it safe for Bug Night-ers to come and identify us tonight?” […]
Even in denatured alcohol, her appearance had not lost its stunning impact. “Once I was a a fresh and supple pupa; a dewy ingénue with my entire life—a staggering fifteen days—ahead of me,” she said, “Now, it ends like this with a frustrated volunteer trying in vain to identify me.” “But, I, um,” the volunteer […]
The studious volunteer peered through the stereoscope. He saw immediately that something stood out from the other specimens. It seemed familiar somehow; something from his childhood or perhaps another childhood. What was even more distinct about the specimen was that it appeared to be looking back at him. He looked closer and recognized her, albeit […]
You can be a B-movie star at the Twenty-second Annual BUG NIGHTS! Lights, camera, (bugs, denatured alcohol), and… action! Since 1995, volunteers including anglers, students, teachers, paddlers, and many others interested in the health of the Upper Merrimack River and general river ecology began learning about these fascinating creatures and what they tell us about river conditions. […]
Everyone could feel it from the moment they entered the building on Wednesday evening. There was a jubilant and giddy air in the St. Paul’s School laboratory. Was it the beautiful cake that the Program Director and Sampling Supervisor had procured for the Bug Night volunteers? Was it the lovely spring weather and it being […]