Hello everyone! My name is Ava Silverberg, and I just began my internship this past week with the Brosi Lab at RMBL (Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory) in Gothic (Crested Butte), Colorado!
I started on Tuesday, July 2nd, after heading to the Wilkinson Public Library in Telluride, Colorado, where I worked with the Pinhead Institute for their PunkScience activities for kids. I had the pleasure of meeting my mentor, Chris Anderson (a Harvard graduate currently pursuing his PhD!), and Cheska Hrupcin (a Telluride High School graduate who interned with the Brosi Lab at RMBL last year!). Chris gave an incredible presentation, educating everyone about various insects. The kids even had the opportunity to hold and touch live insects brought by Pinhead.
Kid holding a Tomato Hornworm during the PunkScience activity!
On Wednesday, July 3rd, and Thursday, July 4th, Chris, Cheska, and I set up a booth in Mountain Village, where kids could catch insects by the pond and bring them back to us for identification. We brought the live insects both days, and the kids and their families had a fantastic time holding and learning about the bugs we brought and the ones they caught. I also learned the names of some insects the kids found—the most common being the mayfly, the damselfly, and the water skipper!
Kid holding a Madagascar Cockroach!
On Sunday, July 7th, I said goodbye to my friends and family and drove to Crested Butte, Colorado. Since that day was packed with last-minute packing and driving, Sarah and I decided it would be best for me to post a blog today to include some of my experiences at RMBL, as today was my first day!
Cheska and I drove up to Gothic to meet up with Chris and two other graduate students. We then took a short hike up to Avery Picnic (aka AP) with various gear, such as Pollinopticon camera trap systems, flower bags, jeweler tags, and stakes/camera mounts. Later this week, we will bring up insect nets and plant cages for further research. We are working on finding out how a diversity of pollinator visits affects the seed production in different plant species.
The team had already prepared the flowers we were testing, so today was all about setting up the cameras to observe pollination events. The setup involved removing the flower bags from each plant, tagging three flowers on each plant, and positioning each camera to capture movement on its assigned flower. We used all eight Pollinopticon camera trap systems and observed a total of 21 flowers, primarily Linum Lewisii with a few Delphinium Nuttallianun.
Linum Lewisii
Delphinium Nuttallianun
Three cameras each directed towards a single flower to capture pollination events
To ensure our data was organized, Chris meticulously tracked which camera system belonged to which plant, which individual camera was assigned to which flower, and the times the cameras were turned on and off.
While the cameras recorded their footage, the team and I explored the forest beds around our testing site and identified some flowers. It was incredible to spend the day with such educated, kind people, learning so much about different flowers. Everyone is so well-versed in flower and insect names and have been teaching me a great deal already!
Wild Orchid
This past week has been filled with lots of learning and fun. I enjoyed watching the gorgeous fireworks on the Fourth of July in Telluride and have just begun exploring the town of Crested Butte. My host family has been so welcoming, and having a peer like Cheska here has made the experience less daunting. I’m thrilled to continue interning in this beautiful town alongside passionate, knowledgeable, and hardworking people.
Wow!! Ava, you are doing amazing! I am so excited for all the great things you will do and learn during your internship. Proud of you! 💗