Here's a brief attempt to recap the first three days, take two. The trip has been incredibly exciting, and to research in the tropics is something I've always wanted to do. The experience has been better than I expected. Its easy even easy to wake up at 5:30 in the morning. This is something that I haven't said too often, if ever. The insect diversity is breathtaking, and its really a joy to be able to study the butteflies and ants of Leaves and Lizards. Ant baiting has been really interesting. It not only works as a sampling method, but its also a great way to observe ant behavior. One of the most amazing examples is of some trap-jawed looking ants in the genus Odontomachus. They are large impressive ants that come to feed off of the small ants feeding on the bait. We saw the volcano errupting and a great example of a habitat in restoration while hiking the Arenal lava flows. Well I need to leave now, but tomorrow I'll post some pictures.
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