Our time in Nicaragua is winding down and fairly soon, I’ll be able to count our days left in the rainforest on both hands. Everything here is so beautiful and unique. From the little intricacies of spider webs to the fascinating dynamics between calling birds, everything has captured my attention. To say that picking one project was difficult would be an understatement. Before leaving for Nicaragua, both Joey (my partner) and I had project ideas of what we might want to focus on. While Joey was far more prepared for our study on epiphytic bromeliad community assemblage, I only knew that I wanted to focus on some sort of animal-plant mutualism like pollination. In our lectures back at UCLA, Dr. Grether mentioned the possibility of working with orchid bees.
Our first couple days in the rainforest were used for exploration, but on our hikes, I would look around at all of the different organisms – overwhelmed, but still hoping to find a bee. When Dr. Grether arrived with the floral and tree oils, Joey and I took them out for a test run. The first few trials were incredibly unsuccessful. We had zero bee sightings. While it was disappointing, I was still convinced that we just needed a few more trials and a little more optimism. When we finally had our first sighting, it was un-bee-lievable. The bee, a medium metallic green morph, came out of the vegetation, buzzing and pausing as it came closer to inspect our scented filter paper. In that moment, I was relieved, amazed, and inspired. I knew that I would stick with this project and I knew that whatever came out of the experience would be incredible.
Over time, our trials have gotten more successful and more informative. As we’ve observed more morphospecies and interactions, I’ve learned so much. Having little previous information about the bees’ bee-hive-ior, our observations really guided the questions and hypotheses that we’ve formulated. At times, it’s been frustrating to observe so many fascinating and subtle behaviors and only focus on a few quantifiable variables. The bees move so fast and their interactions are so numerous. The more we talk amongst ourselves and with our TAs and professors, the clearer our study has become. My experience in creating this project has taught me a lot about realistic expectations, optimism, and patience. At times, it’s been unclear where our behavior project was headed. But when I close my eyes and see the vibrant swarms of orchid bees – sparkling shades of emerald, turquoise, blue, and orange – I know that everything is going to bee alright.
Love, hugs, beans, and rice,
Michelle