This summer the spotlight was on bugs! In an event organised by DIY BIO Hong Kong (a group of citizen scientists in Hong Kong) a STEM educational outreach was organised to encourage a new generation of bug hunters.
Bug enthusiasts of all ages can take part in this exercise it’s an ongoing and long term project with an aim of helping participants reconnect with nature, discover and learn more about the intriguing world of insects around us.
It’s also a fantastic opportunity to learn DNA extraction, sequencing and tagging!!
The end goal of this project is to build and make a publicly accessible bug collection, build a DNA barcode of the documented bugs for Hong Kong as well as the International barcode initiative. A collective citizen’s effort of exploring and documenting Hong Kong’s rich biodiversity of insects.
This year’s event began with a workshop led by the president of Hong Kong Entomological Society, Yiu Vor who guided participants about insect identification, pinning and DNA barcoding.
This year, the bug enthusiasts (including toddlers) went on a field trip to Po Lam and Chuen Lung Village.
Teams were created, bugs collected and studied. Using the wildlife documentation app iNaturalist, field guides and taxonomy keys, a variety of bugs, ranging from ants, moth, jumping spiders, beetles, damselflies and a stick insect were collected!
Teams made observations, drawings and took pictures. Everyone got involved! The collections of bugs were then softened, set, pinned, preserved, labeled and stored.
Mapping insect biodiversity in Hong Kong!
After the bug hunt, was the DNA barcode workshop! DNA was then extracted from the bugs, copies made from the genes using PCR which was later sequenced. Evolutionary trees were created from the DNA sequence generated.
Digital DNA tags (DNA Barcodes) were generated for each bug collected which helps in identifying the variety of insect species by simply scanning their barcode. Barcoding is especially useful in identifying exotic or endangered species and monitoring disease vectors and in distinguishing closing related species.
Interesting insect behaviors were observed by the group, in Po Lam, among weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina). Ants are small but extremely strong, they can lift 10 to 50 times their body weight. The ants were caught in a video clip grabbing at their prey (much larger in size) spreading it apart to the point of complete immobilization until it was torn apart and carried over to their nest in the tree tops where they are fed to the rest of the colony.
Participants also documented Hong Kong’s largest spider — Nephila pilipes, known to build huge webs under a canopy. Although they may appear intimidating, they are generally very timid. The participants also found a particular tarantula species — Phlogiellus xinping, only in Hong Kong and added to the collection.
Citizen science designed this project to inspire people to get out more, and appreciate Hong Kong’s amazing Biodiversity.
So many interesting facts to learn on this adventure about how bugs live and how they impact our lives and environment.
Be part of the Pioneer team of people to document new species and add them to the ever increasing number of catalogued bugs.
Join the Bug Hunters next adventure by contacting DIY BIO directly via their:
Website: http://diybiohk.org/index.php/bug-hunt-hong-kong/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DIYBIOHongKong/
Email: info@diybiohk.org
You don’t want to miss out on all the excitement!!
“We’re going on a Bug Hunt”! was originally published in The CitizenScience.Asia Journal on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
