N.Y. students invade city for beetle study
Eleven-year-old Alan Duran explained that the class project is to study a climate issue that affects more than one state. Asian longhorned beetles were discovered in the United States in New York City.
“Now they’re in Worcester. They’re killing the trees and decreasing the amount of oxygen that trees give off,” Alan explained.
A few minutes later, Mr. Duffy pointed out to his students a tree riddled with holes bored by emerging beetle larvae. The tree’s upper branches were bare.
“Guys, see how there’s no leaves at the top? This tree is dying. That means no photosynthesis,” he explained.
Before heading out on their beetle-hunting expedition, the children got a briefing at Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary on what to look for. They didn’t have to look far to find boreholes and larvae in the infested Greendale park, thought to be ground zero for the Worcester infestation.
The electron microscope at the medical school will allow the class to study the anatomy of the beetles at the cellular level. The device is more than 200 times more powerful that a standard classroom microscope.
But first the class had to figure out how to kill the specimens without damaging them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is leading the eradication effort, has asked that people not move live beetles for fear of inadvertently spreading the infestation.
Mr. Duffy had brought a bottle of rubbing alcohol for the purpose, but the teachers and students weren’t sure if they should submerge the insects, lest the alcohol eat away the shiny black surface of their bodies.
While the teachers debated the best way to dispatch their specimens, 12-year-old Erikson Almonte raised another concern.
WORCESTER— The
number of Asian longhorned beetles infesting the city decreased by two
yesterday afternoon thanks to a group of budding young scientists from
the Bronx.
The sixth-graders from the Archimedes Academy for
Math, Science and Technology Applications are in the city for a class
project on the invasive pests from China. The students were scheduled
to study the white-speckled beetles today using a cutting-edge scanning
electron microscope at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
But first they had to capture one.
Eleven-year-old Alan Duran explained that the class project is to study a climate issue that affects more than one state. Asian longhorned beetles were discovered in the United States in New York City.
“Now they’re in Worcester. They’re killing the trees and decreasing the amount of oxygen that trees give off,” Alan explained.
A few minutes later, Mr. Duffy pointed out to his students a tree riddled with holes bored by emerging beetle larvae. The tree’s upper branches were bare.
“Guys, see how there’s no leaves at the top? This tree is dying. That means no photosynthesis,” he explained.
Before heading out on their beetle-hunting expedition, the children got a briefing at Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary on what to look for. They didn’t have to look far to find boreholes and larvae in the infested Greendale park, thought to be ground zero for the Worcester infestation.
The electron microscope at the medical school will allow the class to study the anatomy of the beetles at the cellular level. The device is more than 200 times more powerful that a standard classroom microscope.
But first the class had to figure out how to kill the specimens without damaging them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is leading the eradication effort, has asked that people not move live beetles for fear of inadvertently spreading the infestation.
Mr. Duffy had brought a bottle of rubbing alcohol for the purpose, but the teachers and students weren’t sure if they should submerge the insects, lest the alcohol eat away the shiny black surface of their bodies.
While the teachers debated the best way to dispatch their specimens, 12-year-old Erikson Almonte raised another concern.
