Mary Katherine- Blue
Today we went to Ruffler Mountain Nature Center. It was a little cold and damp but it was very fun and interesting. We hiked up to the top and stopped along the way to search for some insects and look at the view. It was challenging finding bugs just because of the weather conditions. Ander and I turned over many logs and rocks trying to fins some insects. When we came to the second search area we found a Junebug. It was under a huge rock. The rock was halfway under the ground and halfway above the ground. The Junebug was burrowing facedown in the bug. Ander grabbed him by the abdomen and pulled him out. He wasn't moving very well and looked as if he was almost dead. A junebug are named Junebugs because adult Junebugs are most common in the month of June. June bugs are in the Scarabaeidae family and in the Coleoptera order. They can be classified in many different genuses depending on the species or type of the Junebug. The Junebug was the most interesting insect we found today at Ruffler Mountain. It was different from all of our other insects that we have found so far.
Another interesting adventure was going down into the cave. It was very interesting looking at limestone and learning how it was molded together. Dr. Van Zandt explained to how the cave was made from the leftover limestone after all the water evaporated. He told us that overtime the water would eventually make the cave bigger and wider. It was amazing just being down in the cave. Another interesting fact I learned was how the cave will stay around 50 degrees all year round. It was freezing yesterday (at least I though so) and when we went down in the cave it felt warmer than the outside temperature. Summers in Alabama can get really hot and to know that temp stays 50 degrees was very interesting. I made the comment that I would stay in the cave if I was an insect because it was warmer there but Dr. Van Zandt informed me that there is not much food in caves because of the lack of sunlights and other factors that play into it.
Today we had our first off campus adventure. We went to Ruffler Park. I was excited to encounter new insects and to see the beautiful view that I had heard so much about. Once we arrived at Ruffler Park we began our journey up the trail. This trail seemed like it would never end. Finally we took a pit stop and began looking at walnuts on the ground. Some of the walnuts had insects inside of them. However just with my luck we did not find any insects in the walnuts that we picked up. After this we continued our hike up the trail. We then stopped at our second stop. Where I found a bunch of rocks and logs. I began to pick up them and finally found a bug. The insect I found was a Junebug. I was excited because this was a bug that we had not found yet. After this we continued on the trail which led us to a cave. Dr. Van Zandt asked if anyone wanted to go inside of it. Normally I would say no and be a little freaked out about entering a cave, but for some reason I will follow Dr. Van Zandt through anything. Overall this adventure at Ruffler Park was a great experience I wish I would of found more insects, but still had a great time
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| Junebug |
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| Limestone Rock |
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| Limestone Cave |
Sources:
http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/beetles/june_bug/
http://daynoid.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html
http://www.softschools.com/facts/rocks/limestone_facts/370/
http://www.fsu.edu/news/2011/12/02/going.underground/
http://www.getintravel.com/veliko-tarnovo-bulgaria/fragment-of-the-limestone-rock-in-balkan-mountains/
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