I’ve just finished laying pitfall and sticky traps for my insect sampling and it’s already almost time to start picking them back up. I set over 200 pitfall traps and over 150 sticky traps these last two days and I’m worn out! Here’s a quick picture of a pitfall trap, and a video showing the … More Finished with the insect traps
H everyone, All is well! I’ve had a busy few days though. I’ve decided on terraces, so now I am setting up an experiment looking at the insects, lizards and plants surrounding olive terraces in the Moni valley here on Naxos. I planted 12 pitfall traps and 8 sticky traps around each of 9 terraces … More A quick update
Y’all have been asking for details on the bite force meter I’ve been alluding too. Here are a few pictures to illustrate what I’ve been talking about. The meter was borrowed from and built by Anthony Herrel, a collaborator in Paris. at its core are two metal plates to the left of the picture where … More The Bite Force Meter
Every once in a while driving to my field sites I have to pull over, take a picture, and pinch myself that this is where I’m getting to work. The landscape here is really spectacular. Click on the link to see the picture at a larger size.
As I mentioned earlier I decided to make a few apple pies as a thank you, first to the family who invited me over to dinner for Greek Easter and another to the family living above me who has on several occasions brought me food, and now puts up with 8 Americans living below them. I … More Apple Pies
Here’s one of the five sand boas that friends and I have found over the last few days. I really like this picture, but the fun thing about it is that I was caught in the act of capturing it by Kinsey, another scientist here in Greece. You know how excited I get about snakes. Now … More Eryx jaculus
Hi Everyone, I recently spent a couple of excellent days islet hopping off of Schinoussa. This involves riding in a fisherman’s boat to a few small deserted islets, jumping ashore while the boat is bobbing in the water, and then catching lizards for a couple of hours until it’s time to progress to the next … More Islets
Sorry not to have more time to write. Research is in full swing and I’ve been busily hopping from island to island lately in search of lizards. I’m back on Naxos, setting up experiments for the summer. Soon, hopefully, I can share a few more stories of the day to day goings on. Until then, … More Hiking in Schoinoussa
More info soon when I’m not typing on my phone and spotty Internet, but I am on Schoinoussa and catching lizards to measure bite force. Yesterday turned into a beautiful day. We got lots of lizard and some good data. Today we set out again! More stories soon.
This is a sand boa, Eryx jaculis, found near the hotel. Yay! (I got better shots but this was just convenient to post from my phone). Non venomous and super docile snake. Really wonderful animal. Don’t worry, we released it right after taking pictures. These guys are on the CITES 1 list. Very fun find.
Colin Donihue 