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Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
Going to the Zoo is a popular activity here in San Diego. Most come to see the elephants or the pandas, but there are so many other fascinating creatures to see. A stop people should check out next time they are at the Zoo is the insect house. There you can see insects left and right all the way from ants to bird eating tarantulas.
During our third week of InternQuest, we spoke to Ms. Ester Chang, Senior Keeper in the Entomology Department. Our main focus was on the leaf-cutter ants that harvest leaves for a specific fungus, which in turn, the fungus acts as food for the ants. When these ants aren’t gathering leaves, feeding the fungus, taking trash to the trash chute, or tending to the queen, you can find them sleeping. Each ant has a specific role in the colony: the young work inside the colony, the middle-aged work outside the colony, and the old work in the trash chute. Although being as small a creature as they are, Leaf-cutter ants can carry serious amounts of weight. If we could carry the same ratio of weight as an ant could, we would be able to carry our cars. The whole colony serves the queen who signals the ants through chemical messengers. The ants are most likely blind or have very poor eyesight and rely on the queen’s messages to complete their duties in and around the colony.
The Zoo has little interaction with the leaf-cutter exhibit, just supplying fresh leaves for the ants and making sure everything is in order. To make sure the ants do not escape the exhibit, Ms. Chang and her coworkers put oil on the glass weekly so the ants cannot climb out. This is the Zoo’s first left-cutter ant exhibit and they are expecting it to last until the queen passes away. Queen ants can live fifteen to twenty years before they pass away. The employees have to clean the exhibit and maintain a backup colony as well in case the first one has a problem.
Leaf-cutter ants aren’t the only species Ms. Chang works with! After the presentation, we got to walk around the insect house and view the other species located inside. Insects may look scary, but behind the glass exhibit, you are able to truly examine them without being afraid. Ms. Chang took us into the back of the Insect House to get a look at the behind the scenes. Ms. Chang let us see some creatures that aren’t out on display including a giant African millipede, and multiple species of walking sticks.
If you want to know how to save our minuscule friends, Ms. Chang has some recommendations. Although some insects are very adaptable to habitat change, they can still die from pesticides. If possible try not to use pesticides in your backyard. Also, when going to the grocery market, try to look for organic foods rather than companies that actively use pesticides. Finally, when picking plants for your garden -choose native plants. By choosing native plants, you are helping to provide food and shelter for many species of native insects and birds.
Tara, Real World Team
Week Three, Fall Session 2017
Going to the Zoo is a popular activity here in San Diego. Most come to see the elephants or the pandas, but there are so many other fascinating creatures to see. A stop people should check out next time they are at the Zoo is the insect house. There you can see insects left and right all the way from ants to bird eating tarantulas.
During our third week of InternQuest, we spoke to Ms. Ester Chang, Senior Keeper in the Entomology Department. Our main focus was on the leaf-cutter ants that harvest leaves for a specific fungus, which in turn, the fungus acts as food for the ants. When these ants aren’t gathering leaves, feeding the fungus, taking trash to the trash chute, or tending to the queen, you can find them sleeping. Each ant has a specific role in the colony: the young work inside the colony, the middle-aged work outside the colony, and the old work in the trash chute. Although being as small a creature as they are, Leaf-cutter ants can carry serious amounts of weight. If we could carry the same ratio of weight as an ant could, we would be able to carry our cars. The whole colony serves the queen who signals the ants through chemical messengers. The ants are most likely blind or have very poor eyesight and rely on the queen’s messages to complete their duties in and around the colony.
The Zoo has little interaction with the leaf-cutter exhibit, just supplying fresh leaves for the ants and making sure everything is in order. To make sure the ants do not escape the exhibit, Ms. Chang and her coworkers put oil on the glass weekly so the ants cannot climb out. This is the Zoo’s first left-cutter ant exhibit and they are expecting it to last until the queen passes away. Queen ants can live fifteen to twenty years before they pass away. The employees have to clean the exhibit and maintain a backup colony as well in case the first one has a problem.
Leaf-cutter ants aren’t the only species Ms. Chang works with! After the presentation, we got to walk around the insect house and view the other species located inside. Insects may look scary, but behind the glass exhibit, you are able to truly examine them without being afraid. Ms. Chang took us into the back of the Insect House to get a look at the behind the scenes. Ms. Chang let us see some creatures that aren’t out on display including a giant African millipede, and multiple species of walking sticks.
If you want to know how to save our minuscule friends, Ms. Chang has some recommendations. Although some insects are very adaptable to habitat change, they can still die from pesticides. If possible try not to use pesticides in your backyard. Also, when going to the grocery market, try to look for organic foods rather than companies that actively use pesticides. Finally, when picking plants for your garden -choose native plants. By choosing native plants, you are helping to provide food and shelter for many species of native insects and birds.
Tara, Real World Team
Week Three, Fall Session 2017
