June 17th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

Here’s another interesting longhorn beetle. I think it’s prettier than the last one, and I particularly like the way the antennae basically come out of the compound eye. I guess it pays to leave the veranda light on. I also really need to get crackin’ on my Coleoptera identification skills.



June 17th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

No matter how many times you’ve been to a particular dive site, it is always strange and exciting to dive there at night. Our recent trip to Creole Rock was no exception. Things one doesn’t normally see during the day were everywhere, like tiny decorator crabs with bits of sponge covering their carapaces and legs and incredibly pale anemones reaching up into the water to collect drifting food. Things you do see normally act differently, like the moray eels prowling the reef instead of resting in their daytime crevices. Other things change color, like the various fishes that were sporting nighttime-only colors and patterns.

As a special bonus, on this dive we had left a flashlight pointing into the water by the boat and by the time we returned there were dozens of squid below it. This technique is probably worth a try next time you do a night dive.



June 17th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

Recently on the Internet…

Echinoblog tells us the tale of how fossil sun stars can tell us more than you expect about plate tectonics and evolution.

Thriving Oceans breaks down the theory behind how climate change may impact the breeding capability of sea turtles.

The Scuba Geek helps you visualize the size of the BP oil spill.

Caribbean Med Student helps you find cool stuff do do on Saint Martin, including some nice snorkeling tips.



June 16th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

Before our expedition to find the big bat cave, Madam J and I went with Yann and Marie on a semi-ill-fated expedition to snorkel the mangroves. Poor visibility in the water made the mangroves less than ideal, but we were able to see quite a bit of interesting life in Baie de l’Embouchure. The first exciting discovery was a hermit crab in a conch shell with an orange-tentacled anemone attached to it – a walking menagerie. Next, we saw a small octopus in the sand which gradually went into a small hole. While Jenn was taking some video, he even reached out to grab her camera. Finally, we came upon a group of seemingly abandoned fish pots that were full of lobsters, a large nassau grouper and even a big green moray eel. I did take a few spooky photos in the murky mangrove, but even at the highest tide it wasn’t very clear.



June 16th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

I started early, in an attempt to avoid the worst heat of the day, and set out on the road behind Hope Estate. The road itself was gruelling – sunny and steep, but it took only about an hour to get from Hope Estate to the beginning of the ravine that runs up Mont France. Where the ravine meets the road, there is an interesting stone structure, roughly in the shape of a circle. Heading up the ravine it was much cooler in the dense forest. It must be the season of the black witch, because these large moths seemed to emerge from their hiding places every dozen yards or so. There were also many adorable little snails with round (rather than conical) shells. The only ominous omen was a gunshot I heard as I began to head up the ravine.

Towards the top of the mountain, more light was breaking through the trees and patches of meadow appeared. The ravine gradually disappeared and I followed the trail markings. At some point, I’m not sure when, I must have reached the northeast crest trail, because eventually I came out onto a road. A few yards down was a marking for Petit Fond, which was another trail that runs a circle from Colombier to Pic Paradis. There I made the mistake of entering an abandoned information kiosk where I was promptly stung in the sideburn by a wasp. A few hundred yards from there was the top of Pic Paradis, where I took a few photos, saw what appeared to be a polydamas swallowtail, and headed back home via the road.



June 16th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

Below are a few photos of some idle machinery that sits near Hope Estate. It may be part of the mining operation that has ravaged the mountainside behind the shopping area there.



June 14th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

Madam J and I recently walked out to Baie Maria for an Extreme Shallow Snorkeling expedition and were rewarded with a few outstanding sightings, including several small moray eels, two scorpionfish, a couple mantis shrimp and loads of juvenile fish. This time Madam J swam back instead of walking along the shore and actually found it easier than walking.



June 12th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

After our time in the bat cave, we were united in our desire to have a swim, so we headed to Le Trou de David, which was nearby. It was late afternoon by then, and the iguanas had congregated on the cliff to warm themselves under the setting sun. We headed into the water, exploring the varied canyons and cave entrances near Le Trou de David. A couple small turtles were spotted, or perhaps the same one was spotted by separate groups. Large schools of small, silvery fish filled the basin of the hole, and there were schools of glassy sweepers in many of the caves and crevices. After a last look around the cliffs, we headed back to Grand Case to celebrate our expedition.



June 11th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

Yesterday we (Madam J, Yann, Marie, Robin and myself) undertook a rather exciting expedition. Our first mission was to find La Grotte du Puits des Terres Basses, the largest known bat cave on the island. I had previously searched for it a bit, but had not found it, but we were determined.

First we drove to the general location in the lowland area of the French side of the island and consulted our map. Using coordinates I obtained from a scientific paper, we plotted the point as best we could. I counted paces between the two nearest landmarks, an intersection and the beginning of the nearest salt pond (750 paces) while the team determined the relative distance between the two. Once we located the best starting point from the road, we headed into the forest in search of the cave.

Yann, Marie and I were exploring the hillside when I heard a cry from Yann a hundred feet away. He had found the cave. Although the opening to the cave was quite large, it was difficult to see for more than a short distance due to the contours of the hill and the dense vegetation. In fact, Yann had actually heard the bats before he saw the cave.

The cave itself was as described in the scientific paper, an opening about seven meters wide at the base of a fifteen meter tall limestone outcrop, with visible evidence of past mining. There were two main chambers, and the air was ringing with squeaking bat noises. The stench was bearable, but unpleasant.

Inside the cave there were hundreds of bats. In the left chamber there were large groups near the tallest point of the ceiling in groups several feet wide of solid bat. In the many circular recesses in the ceiling, presumably from mining activity, there were clusters of dozens of bats. Others clung to the ceiling alone or in small groups and there were quite a few flying about the cave. The entire floor was covered in some sort of seeds. I would guess they were the pits of some type of fruit that the bats ate.

The right chamber had a smaller entrance and a couple large holes at the far end of the ceiling that let in light. Some long vines dropped from the holes to the bottom of the cave, and there was a large bird’s nest in a recess near the ceiling. The ceiling in that chamber was also full of bats. On the floor, there were large patches full of cockroaches, very Indiana Jones-style.

As we explored and took photos we noticed the bats reacting to our camera flash. The high-pitched buzz of the bats would turn into an even higher-pitched squeal just after the flash went off. It was surprising and a bit unnerving to hear hundreds of bats complaining about the flash. We were a bit worried about temporarily blinding them with the light, but then remembered that they use echolocation and weren’t as worried.

The air was thick with mosquitos and some members of the team had seen enough, so after taking some more photos we headed back down towards the car, exhilarated at our success and ready to continue on the next part of the day’s mission, but also already contemplating our next visit to this wondrous cave.



June 8th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

Boston.com’s The Big Picture featured an awesome National Geographic photo of some scientists doing Extreme Shallow Snorkeling in a Tennessee creek in search of a 2-inch catfish. Bonus points: the fish is called the smoky madtom.