Eco club activity on 9th September 2017
Reviving
the Eco club activities, Team Vanodaya's target this time was Byadarahalli High
School. So, on 9th September 2017 we set out from Bengaluru in the
wee hours and reached Byadarahalli by 9.15 am. The programme started by 9.30 am with brief introduction of Vanodaya
activities to class 8 & 9th standard students. Then the film on
Nagarahole Sanctuary was shown. The students enjoyed the show. Few Questions
were asked on wildlife after the show. Students showed their keen observations
and responded well and were eager for more. We assured them we will come again
for a field activity of birding next month.
As we waited in awe what would happen next, a big black foraging ant happened to find the struggling victim and pounced on it and started dragging it out with its sharp fangs. It slowly dragged the victim which probably weighed 10 times more than its own weight on the uneven and rough terrain. Its power was amazing. In our scale the ant had dragged the victim about a foot in about 3 minutes.
As
a bonus we had a call from the Halagur range office previous day, for a
presentation on CWLS on the occasion of “Chinnara Vanadarshana”. The
programme was at Bheemeswari.
On
the way to Bheemeswari, we noticed that the forest looked very green and
refreshing. There were around 50 students from the Morarji Desai
residential school. They were engaged by the department people since 8.9.17. A
Power point presentation on CWLS was presented by us and Jagadish in detail highlighted the
important facts on CWLS and our role in it. The students showed surprisingly
good knowledge about wildlife. An Essay, drawing of snakes in its habitat and
quiz on wildlife was arranged next. Top three were selected in each category
and prizes distributed. The camp was meticulously organized by the Forest
Department and very educative for the students. We received two more invites
for the Eco club activity from Mr.Nandeesh, DRFO for Dhangur High School and Mr.Venkataswamy, Principal, Morarji Desai
Residential School.
During
lunch time, we spotted 4-5 Otters in the river opposite and few of the lucky
students were excited to see it. We had earlier sighted few mongooses and many
wild boars. A couple of hornbills were also sighted. Strolling and relaxing
under the green canopy was very pleasant indeed.
Having had our fill
both in food and wild sights, we were witness to another curious drama unfolding on the ground. We chanced upon
a Wasp stinging a May-June beetle(grub stage) and leave it partially paralyzed.
The victim struggled to move after some time. Having found a host to lay its
eggs, the parasitoid Wasp started digging a hole in the ground to take the
victim inside. Once
inside the host the parasitoid egg hatches into a larva. The larva feeds
on the host’s tissues until ready to pupate, by then the host is either dead or moribund. Finding that the hole
was not big enough, it went further deep and wide.
As we waited in awe what would happen next, a big black foraging ant happened to find the struggling victim and pounced on it and started dragging it out with its sharp fangs. It slowly dragged the victim which probably weighed 10 times more than its own weight on the uneven and rough terrain. Its power was amazing. In our scale the ant had dragged the victim about a foot in about 3 minutes.
Meanwhile at the Wasp’s
trap, we could see the movements as the mud stirred and out came the wasp.
Finding that the host was gone, it immediately set out in search. Probably the
food trail pheromone took it to the path the ant had taken, Lo and behold, in
no time it found its victim. By now, the ant through its own chemical
communication had called for reinforcements and nearly 4-5 ants had joined to
drag the victim away. When the wasp approached the victim, the ant attacked the
wasp, finding that it had no chance against the ants, the wasp flew away having
the lost the host for laying its eggs.
It seemed a feast was on
the table for the ants the next couple of days. It was an absorbing drama of
few minutes at the insect level for us. It was quite a fruitful day of sharing
and learning. Earlier we had witnessed 2
dung beetles push and drag a dung quite a distance.
On way back we spotted
a jackal and more wild boars. The forest never ceases to amaze !!!
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