Inside the Weiss Ecology Laboratory

Meg and Liz diligently record wasp behavior.

Jacob is daring in his fashion choice of organic french headware.

Left to Right: Meg tries to understand the mind of a wasp. Liz and Jacob looking busy. Meg observing one of her nests.

Left: Jacob and Meg stike a pose worthy of Vogue. Right: A little music to work by . . .

Doug reverting to his days with Cirque de Soleil.

One day, we had too much fun with hibiscus . . .

Left: Ignacio Castellanos, a colleague from UMD, and Erin prove their dedication by hanging from a bridge in search of the ideal P. fuscatus nest!

Right: Isabel: the youngest lab member helps John out with observing wasp behavior.

Left: Ah, daily chores! Meg, Erin, and John make sure the skippers are comfortable by cleaning out their boxes and giving them new leaves.

Right: Melissa, Stephanie and Erin setting up multitudes of skippers for the next day's experiments.

Left: John has a way with nature: here he
befriends a wild Tiger swallowtail.

Right: Stephanie tests the innate color preferences
of the pipevine swallowtail on a four-color paper flower array.

Left: The call comes in! New wasp colony arriving from Maryland in a few hours. A new cage is needed. 'It's MacGuyver time,' says Meg. ''

Right: Not too long after . . . Erin puts the finishing touches on the new accomodations.