Bats, Spiders and Cemeteries
Bats, spiders, cemeteries, unseen creatures living in our homes– even roadkill– have stories to tell and important lessons to teach us.
Go a Little Batty!
Big Brown Bat (Credit: Celley/USFWS, public domain via Flickr Creative Commons)
You don’t need your own belfry to watch fascinating bats; you can join Bats Count! Bat Cam Emergence Count and watch them leave their Connecticut barn every evening through the project’s live Bat Emergence Cam! As you might have guessed from the project title, Bat Count needs you to count bats as they go bug hunting each night. Tracking the population and activity of this colony of Big Brown Bats will help scientists working to conserve them.
Giant alien spiders invade!
Joro Spider (Credit: Jef Wodniack, iStock)
Now that we have your attention, meet the Joro Spider, from east Asia, which is particularly pretty, has a large orb web, and is harmless to humans. Scientists running the Joro Watch project would like your help tracking this newcomer to understand its effects on local ecology. And check out the video of our SciStarter LIVE webinar on Joro Watch!
Welcome to the cemetery!
Entrance to Miami City Cemetery (Credit: Miami City Cemetery)
Halloween is the perfect time of year to sashay, saunter, mosey or, yes, Stroll Through the Cemetery, a project in which you research and share the lives of people buried at Miami City Cemetery (and eventually at cemeteries everywhere). Just look through the list of cemetery residents, select an interesting name, and follow the project instructions to write about the life of that person. As we learn about the intersecting lives of all of these people, we’ll better understand the history of the region.
Brake for roadkill!
Yield to small mammals (and other creatures). (Credit: Roadkill Reports project)
While millions of nature lovers look for birds, butterflies and wildflowers, it takes a special kind of science buff to hunt for roadkill. But that’s exactly what we, and the scientists at Roadkill Reports, need. Keeping track of roadkill helps scientists locate, study and help remediate stretches of road where wildlife are in the greatest danger. Reporting the victims of today’s car accidents could save other animals from a similar fate!
Say hello to your little friends
Larvae, pupae and adult forms of the drain fly, family Psychodidae, and likely part of your own “Never Home Alone” family, too. (Credit: Trevor Bertone)
You’ll never feel lonely at Halloween when you realize that you’re completely surrounded by thousands of multilegged creatures! Why not get to know them through the Never Home Alone project? Just sign up and then explore the nooks and crannies (whatever they are) of your home to locate the mites, millipedes, carpet beetles and, if you’re lucky, raccoons sharing your living space.
Be a SciStarter Citizen Science Ambassador
Help others discover science by being a citizen science ambassador. (Credit: SciStarter)
As a Volunteer Ambassador for Citizen Science, you’ll help introduce the basics of citizen science to libraries and other community hubs. Free trainings, professionally designed materials and more will help you become a champion, connector and facilitator.
Applications for the second cohort are open now through November 1.
Watch the SciStarter video podcast
A little black throated green warbler is telling you to check out the latest SciStarter podcast.
(Credit: emydee1, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Stroll through a cemetery, befriend a bat, socialize with spiders and more with the latest SciStarter Podcast!
November is packed with citizen science events and programs
Credit: SciStarter
SciStarter LIVE!
Join Emma Giles and the SciStarter team Tuesdays from 2-3 PM ET, to meet inspiring project leaders, gain valuable tips for participating in citizen science projects, and discover the incredible impact your contributions can make. Join the action via Zoom or catch the live stream on SciStarter’s Facebook page.
November 5th – Make Sourdough for Science (and Thanksgiving!) Start at least two weeks before you plan to enjoy the (sourdough) fruits of your labor! Watch on Youtube.
November 12th – Wild Hope, Wildlife Corridors, and Citizen Science Learn how citizen scientists and experts are working together to identify and protect vital wildlife corridors, and how you can get involved in conservation efforts. Register.