“Wow, look at the crazy patterns of exoskeleton on my pedipalp,” said the Bug Night-er. She could not be blamed for a moment of distraction looking at her own morphology through the stereoscope. The one-hour warning had been issued by a White Coat and she had already identified over 700 chironomids and varying quantities of […]
“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 […]
Slowly, the Sampling Supervisor and volunteer circled the macroinvertebrate. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said the volunteer. “It looks familiar,” said the Sampling Supervisor, “I know I’ve seen it before.” He asked the Program Manager to take a look. She recognized it as well. She stared at the bug and grew silent. Perhaps she […]
The man stumbled through the ruins of the city. He was desperate to find anything familiar to help him make his way in this post-apocalyptic world. He was ready to grasp on to the slightest thread that would bring the meaning of his former life back to him: the ghosts of street grids, a landmark, […]