How to Ask a Caterpillar a Question

 

 One Long Line: Marching Caterpillars and the Scientists Who Followed Them
by Loree Griffin Burns;  illus. by Jamie Green
64 pages; ages 7-11
‎MIT Kids Press, 2024

“This is a story about unusual caterpillars, curious people, and fascinating conversations,” writes Loree Griffin Burns. The caterpillars are pine processionaries. The caterpillar watchers are Jean-Henri Fabre and Terrence Fitzgerald, one working in France, one working in America, their studies separated by nearly a century.

And the conversations … they were with the caterpillars. How does one ask a caterpillar questions, you ask? If you’re Henri you play tricks on them and observe how they respond. Henri noticed that the caterpillars walked head-to-rear. He noticed that they seemed to follow a strand of silk – except for the leader who was tasked with finding the way. What would happen if he took away their leader? Would a caterpillar always follow the one in front of them? And what would happen if he could get them to march in a circle? When Henri died, he thought he’d answered his questions. But…

 

   … there was more to find out. At the turn of the millennium Terrence Fitzgerald, an entomologist at SUNY Cortlan began asking his own questions of caterpillars. He’d studied other social caterpillars who used pheromones to communicate, and he wondered whether Henri’s pine processionary caterpillars might have used pheromones. Henri was not around to chat with, but he could ask the caterpillars. One question he asked was: if the leader didn’t lay down any silk, would the others still follow? Terrence would have to play some tricks to get the caterpillars to answer – just like Henri did. You can find out more about his research and watch a video here.    

 

I love how Loree brought Henri and Terrence’s experiments to life. I love how she showed their process of asking questions, testing, and repeating the tests to learn how the caterpillars do what they do. Most of all, I love how she shows that “Science is one long line of learning.” Henri Fabre wasn’t the first naturalist to wonder about – and study – pine processionary caterpillars. Terrence Fitzgerald won’t be the last. Questions about these caterpillars (and other caterpillars) will continue as long as there are curious naturalists.

It’s not just questions about caterpillars either. Scientists are asking millions of questions about whales and space and dinosaurs and trees and fungi. What sorts of things are you wondering about? And how can you answer those questions?  

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ apple blossom pollinators

 Last week I was walking by my friend's garden and the air was filled with the sweetness of apple blossoms. The tree was busy with pollinators: honey bees, flies, wild bees. Here are a couple of the pollinators that took enough time at the blossoms to get pollen on their legs and elsewhere.

 

 

What pollinators are you finding on the flowers growing in your neighborhood?

An Ocean Adventure with Michelle Cusolito

 

A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea 

by Michelle Cusolito 

144 pages; ages 10 & up

‎Charlesbridge, 2024

This is an adventure story! Author, Michelle Cusolito takes readers on a twenty-four day research expedition with scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Destination: the North Atlantic. 

The scientists aboard Research Vessel (R/V) Sarmiento de Gamboa want to learn more about the ocean twilight zone. It lies about half a mile below the surface and scientists know “more about the surface of the moon than they know about the twilight zone,” says Michelle. The scientists are trying to learn more about the biodiversity and food webs in this zone, and how carbon moves from Earth’s atmosphere to the surface of the ocean, down through the twilight zone and eventually to the sea’s floor. To do that, they’ll use sophisticated equipment to help them collect and analyze samples from the ocean.

Chapter by chapter, Michelle introduces the reader to the vessel and the crew. As they head out to sea, she introduces the scientific equipment and the kind of data the researchers hope to collect. Of course, they don’t depend totally on new tech – there’s plenty of old-school ways to collect information about the ocean as they travel.

In one chapter, Michelle focuses on the MOCHNESS – not a monster, but a sophisticated collecting and sensing system. The nets collect creatures from different depths: lanternfish, octopuses, and a diversity of bioluminescent creatures. The sensors collect information about water temperature, salinity, oxygen and light levels. Other chapter focuses on cutting edge technology employed via water sled and underwater robots.

And then there’s the adventures: storms at sea, glitches in hardware that require creative solutions to recover equipment. I like how Michelle ends the book with a discussion  of the future of ocean science. She also presents early findings from the research trip and provides tips for kids who want to study the ocean. And the end pages are maps- so you won’t get lost as you travel along with the crew.

This was such a wild adventure story that I had to ask Michelle a Few Questions ...

Me: Tell us one surprising thing you learned from your adventure at sea. 

image provided by author

Michelle: I learned that Life Savers candies are used in a surprising way in ocean research! Here’s what I wrote in the book (page 79): Weights are attached to one of the candy rings, which is attached to the MINION [an underwater robot]. When the MINION is lowered overboard and into the ocean, the water dissolves the candy. Once the candy ring breaks, the weights fall off and the MINION reaches neutral buoyancy in the twilight zone, which means it hovers at a desired depth rather than sinking deeper or rising back to the surface. Not all Life Savers are up to this task, however. The ones that dissolve at the correct rate are individually wrapped fruit or butter rum ones, which are larger than those in a roll.

 

Me: How did you come to be part of the expedition? And what was your role/job? 

Michelle: It’s rare for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to bring a children’s book author out on an expedition where berths are in high demand. I’ve built a strong working relationship with WHOI since I first connected with them while researching for my first book—Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep-Sea Submersible Alvin—nine years ago. I strongly believe in WHOI’s mission and do what I can to support it. Writing books that feature their research is one way to do that.

I had three jobs while at sea:

1. Researching for my book. This included conducting interviews, taking notes, and shooting lots of photos and videos;
2. Working with another science communicator on board—Marley Parker—to write daily blog posts about the expedition for WHOI; and
3. Assisting the scientists as needed.

Photo © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Marley Parker

I generally worked 12-14+ hour days, just like everyone else. (It’s a 24/7 operation). I was on deck and in the lab with the scientists every day and during some overnight shifts. There were times when I’d go to bed at midnight and my alarm would go off at 3:00 am to go document the recovery of a piece of equipment. I’d be on deck working ten minutes later. (Except for the one time I was so exhausted that Marley couldn’t wake me!) 

I loved being in the action and assisting when needed. One of my favorite memories is from a day I helped process the animals brought up in the nets. I got to see creatures that most people will never see. The photo above is of me holding an Atolla Jelly from that day.

Me: A lot of your research was interviews and photos. How did you store your valuable information while at sea? 

Michelle: This expedition took place in May of 2021, so we had to quarantine in a hotel in Spain for two weeks before boarding the ship. While in quarantine, Marley and I conducted Zoom interviews with many of the scientists and engineers. This helped us get a head start on building our understanding of what we’d be observing. I took notes during the interviews, and we recorded them. I later transcribed those interviews. All of the work done in quarantine was backed up to the cloud because we had relatively good internet in the hotel. Once we got on the ship, it was a whole different ball game. 

We had a very poor internet connection on the ship. Marley and I struggled to email simple word documents and relatively small photos back to WHOI for our daily posts. We’d often have to send them late at night when most people were sleeping (and therefore, not using the internet).

On the ship, I took notes in regular old spiral notebooks - I used a total of four for this book! I had brought several pocket-sized notebooks (including a waterproof one) thinking I’d use them on deck, but I never did. There was no time for notetaking on deck. I’d do that as soon as I got back inside. 

I also kept a journal where I collaged and glued in memorabilia while in quarantine. I also recorded my personal feelings and thoughts, not necessarily intending to use them in the book, but a few bits did get in. (The sidebar on page 66-67 was pulled from my journal)

I also took thousands of photos and dozens of videos. I backed those up to an external drive.

Me: Thank you for taking us along on your ocean adventure, Michelle! 

Michelle is a member of #STEAMTeam2024. You can find out more about her at her website. 

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge’s blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.