Science Project Blog

Shireen's Citizen Science Project Blog

I will be collecting data about bugs I see and then uploading the data on to the Bugs In Our Backyard website.

Mission of the project

The project mission is to give data to the Bugs In Our Backyard website. I will be collecting data for about 15 minutes, submitting it to the Bugs In Our Backyard open-ended survey, and then writing about my obervations in this blog. By documenting the bugs that I see I will be helping scientists measure biodiversity in different areas, which is very valuable information.

Introductory Blog Post

I am collecting data for the Bugs In Our Backyard organization. Bugs In Our Backyard is aimed at engaging students in learning about bugs and collecting information about them. They are part of an NSF(National Science Foundation)-funded research project at Colby College. This particular website's goal is to get kids involved with biology by making them "citizen scientists". They have 5 different surveys that kids can submit their data to, and I will be using the Open-Ended Survey. The data from each survey that is submitted is then curated and then posted publicly on the website so anyone can access and use it. This process helps to connect kids with science and biology, which is the organization's mission. Of the different projects to choose, I chose to work on the open-ended survey project. In this project I observe all different kinds of bugs at a certain location for about 15 minutes. Then, I submit a different survey for each bug I find. For each survey I identify the type of bug, what plants it was next to and how many, how big the plants were, what the bugs and plants looked like, the exact location of the bug, and I upload 1-3 pictures of the bugs. This project's mission is to collect information on biodiversity. By measuring the different species of bugs I find in a certain area, that gives scientists information they can later use to measure biodiversity in different areas. Information about biodiversity can be helpful to other scientists looking at climate change, species movements, and other studies! I chose that specific project because we learned about biodiversity earlier in the year. I really enjoyed learning about it, and I wanted to do another project that was somewhat connected to it. I also know how important having biodiversity is (because the more biodiversity a place has, the more resilient it is) and I wanted to be able to help scientists learn more about biodiversity and hopefully be able to find a way to improve biodiversity in some places if they need it. There are a lot of positive impacts that this project has too! Like I mentioned earlier, this project will give information to scientists about biodiversity, which is very important. Also, having information on biodiversity will be helpful to scientists that are studying a wide range of topics (ex: climate change or species movements). This project not only gives scientists information on biodiversity, but it helps them get important information they need for other topics too! Biodiversity is extremely important, and collecting information about it is really helpful to scientists and ecosystems all around the world. The more information scientists have, the more they can problem-solve and learn more about important issues in our world today, like climate change and other topics related to climate change (ex: species movements).

My Project Schedule:

Tuesday:

Review instructions with Ms. Carter during class (30 mins)
Data Collection #1 (15 mins)
First Blog Post (15 mins)
Write Blog Post for today (15 mins)

Wednesday:

Data Collection #2 (15 mins)
Write Blog post (15 mins)
Study for Quiz (15 mins)

Thursday:

Data Collection #3 (15 mins)
Write Blog post (20 mins)
Study for Quiz (30 mins)

Friday:

Data Collection #4 (15 mins)
Write Blog post (15 mins)

Saturday:

Free Day!

Sunday:

Start Final Blog Post (20 mins)

Monday:

Finish Final Blog Post (15 mins)
Study for Quiz (30 mins)

Day 1 - June 1st, 2021

Today I went out to Archery Field on the BDS campus at around 12:10.pm I stayed mostly in the far right corner while collecting my data. The first bug I found was an ant. It was small and a dark-ish brown. When I found it, it was walking on top of a small plant. The plant was about 6 - 10 inches high. It was a light-ish green, with yellow-green stems. When I saw the ant it walking between the two leaves furthest away from the ground. It was climbing all over the leaves; first it was on the one closest to me, then it went to the other one, and then back. After I saw that ant, I saw another one. However, the second ant was around 2 times bigger, and it was dark black. The second ant was not on a plant, it was running around the dead leaves that were on the ground. Next, I saw two "pill bugs". They were both in the same part of Archery Field. A rock had been overturned, and there were the two pill bugs and a worm in the newly exposed dirt. The two pill bugs were around the same size, and they were both brown. All of those insects were found away from any plants; there was nothing near them but some mud and a few pebbles. While I was collecting data about the pill bugs I saw a few more ants, and one small spider. The ants were similar to the first ant I saw (small, dark-ish brown), but they were not on any plants. The spider was very small and it was light brown. Later in the day (around 12:50-ish) I went back out to Archery Field for lunch and I saw a bigger spider. This one was also light brown, but it had a white segment of it's body. It was in the same spot as I had found the pill bugs earlier, and like them, it was not on any plants.

Day 2 - June 2nd, 2021

Today I went out to Archery and Clafflin field on the BDS campus. I walked around the outside of Archery and Clafflin field, and then I walked around in the woods behind Clafflin. I was collecting data from around 11:40am - 11:55am. The sky was blue today, with a few clouds overhead. As I collected data I could hear birds chirping in the trees, and I felt a few gusts of wind. It was pretty hot outside (around 70 degrees F). While collecting data I observed many different bugs/insects. I saw some ants, flies, a spider, and a beetle. On the outside of Archery field I saw 4 yellow-ish ants on an overturned rock. They were running around the rock while I observed them. They were about the size of an average ant (like the one in the image from yesterday's blog post), maybe a bit bigger. They were not near any plants, they were just on the rock with a few small sticks and pebbles. A few yards away from the overturned rock I found an ant hole. Outside the ant hole there was a mass of ants all swarming what looked to be part of a walnut or some seed. These ants were a bit smaller than the yellow ants, and they were brown. The walnut/seed was about 1 1/2 inches long. Then, closer to the BDS garden, I found another ant. This one was on a plant (like the ant from Day 1). It was about the same size as the ant from Day 1 and it was also dark-ish brown. However, this ant was climbing a much bigger plant than the plant from Day 1. The plant was about 1 1/2 times taller and it had much bigger leaves. It's stems were a light green and it had green leaves. Then, I went back to the overturned rock and saw an un-identified bug. I think it is either a pill bug, or a beetle of some kind. It was a dark brown with a few light brown stripes. It also had a pink patch near it's head. It was pretty small, but bigger than the ants. When I saw it, it was running around the wall of a hole, going up, then down, then up, and then down again. Later on Archery Field, I saw a spider at the base of the tree. The spider looked similar to the spider I saw yesterday at lunch and I wonder if it was the same one. It had a brown body with a white segment near the end of it's torso. It was sitting still on a pile of dead leaves at the base of a tree. Next, I saw a fly on Archery Field that was sitting on a leaf. It did not move even when I put my finger close to it. It only moved when I touched the leaf. The fly was grey with grey-ish white wings. It's legs were a darker shade of grey, almost black. The plant it was sitting on was about 10 - 14 inches tall, and the fly itself was very small compared to the plant. The plant had white stems, and light green leaves. On my way over to Clafflin Field (in between Clafflin and Archery)I saw a bigger fly sitting on a rock. The fly was very similar to the fly I saw earlier. It was mostly grey, but it's legs were black, and it's wings were clear. While I observed it, the fly did not move at all. Finally, on Clafflin Field I saw a black beetle. The beetle was very small, and it was all black. When I saw it, it was running very fast on the ground. It was not on any plants, but it passed through the grass and some pebbles while it ran. Throughout my data collection I saw leaves that had holes in them, like they had been eaten. I think that there has been an increase in the population of caterpillars or other plant-eating bugs because I did not notice so many plants with holes in them last time. After I collected data for the second time I had some wonders. One wonder I have is: I wonder if I will see the spider again the next time I collect data. And, I wonder if it the same spider or a different one.

Above: Spider

Below: Fly

Day 3 - June 3rd, 2021 Early Afternoon

Today I went out to Archery Field from 1:20pm - 1:35pm to collect data. I walked around the outside of the BDS garden and the outside of Archery Field. The sky was a blue color with lots of clouds in the sky. Some of the clouds were white, but most of them were grey. It was relatively cool, not nearly as hot as the last two days. It was also quiet today, and I could not hear any birds. There were some small gusts of wind, but it was not as windy as yesterday. While collecting data I saw a few ants, a caterpillar, two beetles, and a small red bug. One of the ants I saw was carrying another ant with it. They were both big ants and they were black. I found them near the BDS garden. They were running around the ground while attached to each other, so I think they were mating. Then, I saw a caterpillar on the border between Archery and Clafflin field. I am not sure what species it was, but I think it was a moth caterpillar. It was about 2 - 4 inches long. It had purple-brown spots on its back and the rest of its back was a pink-ish purple color. Its stomach was mostly pink, with a purple spot near its head. When I saw it, it was on a rock, but it soon fell down the rock and began to crawl along the leaves. Later I saw two beetles about a foot away from each other. The first beetle was a black beetle. It had a black body and black legs. It was pretty small and it was a bit shiny. It was not on any plants, it was walking around on the ground near some pebbles, dirt, and grass. It was the same species of the black beetle that I saw yesterday, but I still do not know what species it was. The next beetle was also walking around on the ground. It was about the same size as the black bug and it was also an un-identified species. It has a light brown stripe down its back, and the rest of it was dark brown. Its legs were also light brown and they were a bit shiny. It also had light brown antenna. I also saw a small red bug. I do not know what species it was. It was around 10 times smaller than the beetles that I saw. I found it on a rock in between Clafflin and Archery field. It was not near any plants, even grass. I did not see any spiders today, I wonder if I will see any tomorrow.

Day 4 - June 3rd, 2021 Evening

Today in the evening I collected data in my backyard. I collected data from about 6:00pm to 6:15pm and I stayed around the perimeter of my yard. The sky was full of grey clouds and I could not see the sun at all. It was a bit humid outside, but it was not hot. As I collected data I could hear the sound of birds chirping. It was a bit windy outside, but not as much as it was earlier today when I made my Day 3 blog post. As I collected data I saw a fly, many ants, a red bug, and two un-identified bugs. I found the fly when it was flying around my yard. It finally settled down on a plant after awhile. The plant was about 2 feet tall, but the fly settled down on one of its lower branches. The plant had green leaves that were around 4 - 8 inches long. The fly was black and grey. It had a black body and black legs. Its wings were clear and they had grey lines on them. It was around 1/4 to 1/2 an inch long, so about average size. Of all the ants I saw the most interesting one was carrying a piece of food. I watched it as it brought the food into its ant hole. It was walking along a rock and then eventually went into the ant hole at the base of the rock. The ant was black with 3 segments of its body. It had long grey-ish black antenna and its legs were black. In its mouth it carried a white piece of food. Around the ant hole I saw around 5 other ants and I could see a few more moving around in the ant hole. Next, I saw a red bug. The bug looked the exact same as the red bug I saw in Day 3's blog post. It was very small and red all over. And, it was also on a rock. This time, instead of finding one I found around 20. They were all running around the rock and they were spread out all over this. I remember seeing bugs like this last year around this time too, so I think that they come out during the month of June. Finally, I saw two un-identified bugs that were the same species. I think they were pill bugs, but they looked a bit different than normal pill bugs, so I was not sure. They were both grey, light brown, black, and brown. They had a black head an antenna. Their body was dark brown, with lighter brown and grey near their legs. I did not see them together, but each of them was running along a rock when I observed them. I have seen some bugs similar to this at BDS, so I wonder if they are the same species or if they are different.

Un-Identified Bug (Maybe Pill Bug)

Final Blog Post

Overall, I really enjoyed collecting data about bugs these past days and I learned a lot! One really important thing I learned is that you have to be very detailed and precise when collecting data, every little detail matters. I found that when I took more detailed notes and pictures of the bugs I was better able to answer questions in the open-ended survery, so I could help the scientists get even more data. When I did not take detailed notes and obervations it was hard to answer the questions in the survey and I could tell I was not giving the scientists all the information I could have. Since the goal of this project is to help scientists collect data I learned that I should be as detailed and observant as possible in order to give the scientists the most information possible. Something I found very interesting during this project was that I would find certain beetles or spiders in multiple data collection sessions. On the first day I found a species of spider, and on the second day I saw the same species. I think when I found a certain species more than once that meant that the certain species was very prevelant in that habitat. It was really fun to keep track of what bugs I saw again and which ones I only saw once. Not only was this project really fun, but it has a lot of future positive impacts. Everyday after I collected data I would submit it to the Bugs In Our Backyard website. The survey I used gave scientists information on biodiversity. In the future, the information I submitted could be used when studying climate change, species movements, and community ecology. This could possibly later help people learn more about climate change and ecosystems. In order to combat climate change we need to understand it and learn more about how it is affecting different populations, so giving scientists information about climate change could potentially help to stop it in the future. Giving scientists information that they can use to study ecosystems is also very important. If we understand and learn more about ecosystems than in the future we could be able to keep ecoystems balanced and manage over-population of certain species. We need to have balanced ecosystems so that plants and animals have safe habitats and the planet can thrive (ex: balanced ecosystems maintain the soil). Getting more information about ecoystems could later help us maintain them and keep our planet healthy.

Questions?

Contact sgriffithebrahimi22@belmontday.org to get more information on the project!

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