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Its been a while and I have some stuff to share.

My team and I have made some serious progress measuring the body size of the hoppers I caught last summer. After a few days of fumbling with the limp and lifeless bodies fresh from the freezer, Eric and I have mastered the use of digital calipers and I am pleased to report most specimens have been measured.

Eric making it look easy

On the other side of campus Kelsey and I have started the tedious process of measuring the mass of he eggs the hoppers laid while in the growth chambers. This has proven to be much more difficult than I thought it would be, as the eggs are glued together (rather solidly) within a matrix of sand.

Eggs are counted and then weighed, and eventually we will calculate the average mass/egg from each individual, population. Standard deviation within a population will probably also be an interesting measurement.

A female M. sanguinipes and her egg pod. It looks massive relative to her body, however most of this is sand glued together via a secretion she will make in her accessory glands. 

Another egg pod from M. sanguinipes (those are cm on top)

Individual eggs (M. sanguinipes) after being delicately removed from their sandy/glue matrix. Each one is a tiny bit smaller than a grain of rice

Kelsey is becoming a master with the forceps

Since I last posted on this, the language of the project has been slightly modified.

The main question that is being investigated has become "Does dispersal potential affect the life history traits of an organism?"

I hypothesize that dispersal potential will have an impact on the life history traits of grasshoppers along an elevation gradient west of Boulder, CO.

I am trying to be careful with my use of the word "adaptation" as it can have some serious implications that a study short of lab rearing and genetic testing (like mine) cannot answer.

To see how dispersal potential impacts grasshoppers I am measuring a set of characteristics that will tell me about their life history (to learn about what I mean by life history click here).

First is body size. Body size id directly correlated to the number of ovarioles an insect has (individual female reproductive units) which is the second characteristic. Third is the egg clutch size, which is connected with the number of ovarioles. Finally to measure the survival of eggs laid by certain species in different populations I will look at the population size over x number of years.

This morning I watched as my dilapidated '98 Accord was towed away to car heaven. Last Saturday, after the Broncos totally blew it and as a number of other total bullshit events ensued, I heard a loud crash outside. I stood up and looked out the window. And there it was. A two door Saturn had plowed directly into my car. As the completely wasted offender jammed his foot onto the gas pedal plumes of smoke from burning rubber hit me in the face. But his car was also done for. He got out, mumbled something and proceeded to stumble down an alley. As of now it seems that he will be getting his comeuppins.