Herpetology and Entomology students from the SU Biology department recently conducted an overnight fieldwork at the Chapman Research Station in Bongbong, Valencia, and documented two species of frogs, three species of lizards, and 195 species of insects.
The Entomology class conducted morning and night transect walks and were able to identify insects belonging to 12 different orders. Various black butterflies were sighted around the campsite, and ground-dwelling beetles and large crickets were observed within the forest floor of dry leaves.
There were also high sightings of ‘walking sticks’ from their juvenile to adult stages, some with spikes on their bodies. Tarantulas hiding inside holes were observed along the way to the Silliman Writer’s Village.
A light trap also attracted small insects like leafhoppers and nymph (juvenile) grasshoppers.
The Herpetology class conducted a night transect using the cruising method through GPS coordinates. The class aimed to perform hand collection sampling, morphometrics, and familiarize themselves with the bio-acoustics of the herpetofauna.
The students looked out for reptiles around tall trees and boulders, and amphibians among plants and rock crevices. They identified two genera of frogs, and two genera of lizards.
This research station was historically a hiding place for James W. Chapman and his colleagues during World War II in Negros Oriental. While in hiding, Chapman is known to have encountered a variety of species worth researching, some of which are preserved at the Rodolfo Gonzales Museum of Natural History at the SU Science Complex.
At the recent fieldwork, the Biology majors were accompanied by their professors Esteven Theodore Nacar, Michael Alcala, and Leandro Cabrera. (Selin Antonio Toker/SU Biology)
