Week 2 Ella Eleven

 Hi again all! This is Ella. Work is all according to plan in ABQ. We RaHP VEC students have completed two trapping runs now. Plus some extra traps, which can be placed at citizen request. The trapping runs take all day, but it's not too bad with the AC, snacks, and friends in the car :)

Most of the other work was IDing! There are a lot of bugs, but even more to come!! It is not peak season yet. 

My favorite species (so far) is Culex tarsalis, because they have white vertical stripes on their legs. Very cute. There are also some other insects that come in as bycatch in the traps, and I've got a collection of those going so I can pin them. I am still learning how to take good photos with the microscope, but here's some teasers (they look a lot blurrier on the computer haha).

I really like the combo of labwork and fieldwork. It gives a chance to have varied experience, and getting the entire picture of what we do really helps with science communication and public outreach, which I'm interested in as well. 

Pictured here are Aedes vexans and Aedes dorsalis, both very numerous especially this time of year! Most of the other species are just a few per collection site, if that.