Vol 1 - The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club

Page 4 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013just had to see this out-of-this-world creaturefor myself, so we both borrowed snorkelinggear and dove into the deep blue inthe name of underwater photography. Unfortunately,the mystical creature had hadenough of curious snorkellers and the fallingtide, and was nowhere in sight. Disappointed,we began our swim back to shore. A hugeschool of tiny bait fish took us by surprise,however, and refused to leave us alone untilwe had given them an audience.Dan’s delicious, steaming hot dhal and rice,flavoured with a bouquet garni of lemongrass, was a welcome feast after a quick dipunder the cascades of the nearby crayfishriddledriver. Observing the dampness of theevening, Dan told us that if one ever neededto build a fire in such weather it is easierdone by cutting a hole in the hollow stem ofthe bamboo which would provide a protectedand dry refuge for a flame, a trick hehad learnt from his mother.A little while after my late lunch/early dinner,I had the pleasure of becoming closely acquaintedwith a ¾”, brownish-grey jumpingfrog; Humboldt's Toad (Rhinella humboldti)that made quite at home in the palmof my hand.As the setting sun was pulled across the skyin a chariot driven by a flock of parrots, webecame curious about the congregation ofquite a few turkey vultures in one area of thebeach. Upon our approach, and urged by thechastising of Kay Hinkson, they flew off butonly after devouring a cache of turtle hatchlings.We were lucky enough, however, to witnessthe journey of the surviving 29 hatchlingswho hurtled down the beach and intothe great ocean.An evening of indeterminate weather waspunctuated by a double rainbow, of whichthe “paparazzi” took full advantage, and wefinished the day gazing at some star—or wasit a plane—through gathering clouds andlighting fireworks. Our walk back to ourtents yielded the unmistakable scent of ‘wildanimal’, perhaps porcupine, suggested Dan.Most of us fell asleep in the late hours of thenight to the sound of cicadas, occasionalstreaks of lightning parting the sky, and theroll of distant thunder.I woke in the early hours of the morningand decided to take a stroll down the beachwith mum. To the eastern end we discoveredseveral tracks along the beach. Dan, the onlyother human afoot, appeared and informedus that he was sure there was a major nestinglast night and that we had just missed anadult, hawksbill probably, returning to the sea.Excited, we walked the entire distance of thebeach counting fresh adult turtle and hatch-Humboldt's Toad,Rhinella humboldtiat home in Kathryn’s palmPhoto: Vicki Blanchard

Page 5 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013ling tracks. Whilst counting, we noted thatone hawksbill had even wandered up pastthe sand and had flattened an area amongstthe vegetation. Based on the tracks, we accountedfor 10 adult hawksbill turtles, 2 adultleatherbacks and a total of 270 hatchlings inall! There were 4 recently hatched nests; thehatchlings per nest were 65, 54, 50 and 101,respectively. (We triple-checked that last nestto make sure)!arrived and we set off on our little excursionto Madamas Beach. The path was muddyfrom the rain on the previous night, and attimes a bit steep, but generally clear and obvious.The only species that came anywhere nearthe turtle in number was the turkey vulturewith 25 representatives. The most energeticand visible had to be the 6 sandpipers caughtfrolicking in the receding waves. Of note wasthe remains of the breast plate of an apparentlyslaughtered turtle that was found onthe beach. Another chunk of ‘plate’ was alsofound on Madamas Beach.The most intriguing discovery, however, wasthe trail of a four-legged creature that movedwith feet one after the other in very closepairs. No tail tracks were evident. The distancebetween the tracks was about 6inches. Each paw was about 1.5 to 2 inches inlength which included claw-like indentationsto the front. It seemed to be hunting thesand crabs and had also, by evidence of itstracks and leftovers, made a meal of a hatchlingor two. Almost half of the beach wascovered in these tracks that meandered betweenthe tree line and water’s edge. Quite adistance to cover so it may have been possiblethat he or she had company.We returned to the campsite for a goodhelping of Dan’s lemon grass tea and breakfast.Not long after ten o’clock, the secondgroup of hikers, Esperanza Luengo and family,Curious tracks foundon Madamas BeachPhoto: Vicki Blanchard

Page 6 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013The haunting remains of a vanished agriculturalcommunity, that existed when cocoawas king, lingered around us on the trail toMadamas. The remnants of a small house, pillarsand front steps, lay tucked away to theside of our path. Amongst its ruins, and scatteredin the general vicinity, were evidence of‘domestic’ plants like ixoras. Interspersedalong the trail were yam, breadfruit andlemon trees.We encountered wild chataigne and severaltowering stands of heliconias in full bloom.Hog plums (Spondias mombin) and cocoaserved as light snacks along the way. Specialappearances were made by a 200-year-oldbalata tree and the ‘Mountain Cabbage’ palm(Euterpe precatoria). The biggest hit however,was the inedible sandbox (Hura crepitans)and a similar tree with three-seeded fruit(perhaps a rubber tree) whose nuts explodedover our heads like oversized popcorn.Along the beach, Nipa palm fruits,(right)Mountain Cabbage palms,Euterpe precatoriaPhoto: Vicki BlanchardGrand TacaribePhoto: Vicki Blanchard

Page 7 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013left:Dry rubber tree seed pod,Heavea brasiliensisright:Dry sandbox fruit,Euterpe precatoriabottom right:Shelf mushroom,A fungusbelonging to thegenus Ganodermagrowing on a deadtree trunkPhotos: Vicki Blanchard

Page 10 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013Trinidad and just southwest of the equallyfamous San Quentin and Columba estateswhich total approximately 2400 acres.Initial impressions were that the estate buildingswere rather run down since many buildingsand water tanks are now idle and havenot been demolished. Dead trees were plentifulappearing as headless trunks standingamong those that have survived. Also thewell known coastal erosion has removedlarge areas on which coconuts and buildingspreviously stood. The signs of this were evidentwhile deposition further down and actuallyonto the ‘tip’ of Trinidad, has increasedthe land available on the edge of the St Andrew’sestate.Phillipe explained that production wasgreatly reduced largely from the effects ofthe ‘red mites’ and ‘red ring’ disease, plussome damage from the grubs of the rhinocerosbeetle. Before the arrival of the invasivealien ‘red mites’ from Asia his estates produced100,000 nuts per week, but productionwas now down to 10,000 nuts per weekas a result of trees dying and labour shortages.Although he claimed the mites are controllablewith frequent applications of soapywater mixed with a little vegetable oil andpossibly some ‘miteicide’ acaricide, the costof spraying, especially on tall trees is virtuallyprohibitive. Red Ring disease is well knownto coconut producers, being a pest for aslong as coconuts have been produced. It iscaused by a nematode which is transportedby the palm weevil Rhynchophorus palmarumand enters a young tree through scars on thetrunk, leaf stumps or any wound caused accidentallyby brush cutting equipment. Thisnematode causes a red ring visible in thestump of a felled tree. There is no cure, sotrees that appear infected must be felled andcleared. His observation was that tall treespast a certain age do not seem to get infected,but replants may suffer losses of up to75%. Trapping of the host weevil is possibleusing plastic sweet drink bottles and a varietyof baits.These pests plus the fact that a tree takesabout 4 – 6 years to reach fruiting age, anddry nuts are not harvested until a year afterthe flowers bloom, makes the business offarming quite difficult, requiring continuousreplanting. In the future he is dreading thearrival of another alien invasive diseaseknown as “Lethal Yellow” that has already arrivedin Antigua and will almost certainlymake its way to Trinidad.The government has provided negligible assistancedespite many public utterances ofbringing ‘experts’ from abroad to find a solutionto the problem, which Phillipe felt mustbe the introduction of a natural predator.He explained that coconuts grow best inplenty of sunlight and those that start theirlife in shadier areas forever produce lessnuts. Thus an area has to be completelycleared of dead trees and survivors beforenew trees are planted out from nurseries.Also, mixed cropping is limited for at least ayear until the young trees have gainedenough height. Trees are planted about 25feet apart and in straight lines to facilitatemaintenance with tractors.We toured the coconut milk plant whichproduces flavouring extracted ‘milk’, that ischilled down to -20 0 C, and delivered to icecream makers as a way of extracting higher

Page 11 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013value from coconuts than via copra. Theequipment is housed in a concrete shed in asectioned, closed, sterilized area and theprocess consists of two lightly chlorinatedwashes followed by grinding, squeezing, collectingand chilling. Only prime, selected coconutmeat is used. The milk (an emulsion ofcoconut oil and water) is produced in threeruns weekly.Bags of husked nuts and bunches of largeplantains were also seen in the shed, but outsideof the sterilized area.swamp to which he directed us along an estateroad heading roughly north whichbrought us near the edge. Several of uswalked the last few hundred feet through thecoconuts to the swamp that was largely dryenough to walk on, except for some ditcheswith standing water. This eventually broughtus to the edge of an open lagoon with themangroves extending a few feet into the waterthat was about 3 feet in depth. We sawno signs of bird life and while clambering inthese mangroves to get a picture I droppedmy camera into the swamp. Although I managedto retrieve it, it was quite ruined.Also seen in another shed were the fired driersthat turn out the more traditional product,copra, that is delivered to CoconutGrowers Association in Port of Spain whereit is used for producing cooking oil and makingsoap.We then took to the cars and drove to anarea where mixed crops are being tried,grown under coconuts. There, in an areafenced against feral cattle, we were shownhealthy cocoa, plantain, lime and lemon trees,all growing below tall coconuts that seemedto have suffered fewer losses to mites thanthose located in other areas. On the track tothis orchard we passed replanted fields ofcoconuts with about a year’s growth. This entirepeninsula area is barely a few feet abovesea level and evidence of the wet swamp wasclearly seen as water-filled depressions withlevels just below the dry land we walked on.Nevertheless Phillipe assured us that theyare still very dependent on rain, and cropyields fall dramatically about a year after aparticularly dry season.Phillipe then left us to explore the mangroveFrom the swamp we had arranged to see theSt Andrew’s estate on our way out since theroad back took us through it. Here, underthe guidance of the estate manager, Allan(surname unknown), we saw the coconutsplitting machine that replaces this previouslymanual task. A small mound had been madeabutting a silo filled with dry coconuts. Thetractor having gathered nuts from the fieldclimbs the mound and empties its cargo intothe silo. At the base a sluice-like door controlsthe flow of nuts onto an inclined conveyorthat elevates the nuts above the splitter.This splitter, locally made by the previousestate owner, consists of three verticallyplanedsharpened discs mounted on separateshafts at an angle of 120 0 to each other sothat the sharpened edges converge leaving agap of only about 1 inch in the centre. Oneman stands on a platform and manually orientateseach nut, brought up to him by theconveyor, so it enters the knives by gravity,which then split the nut and husk into 3 segments.These cut pieces fall into a trolley basketwhich then is pushed manually along railswhere the husks and copra-bearing shells are

Page 13 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013Field Trip Report, Saturday February 16th, 2013TTFNC Bug Trip to Arena Forest ReserveReport by Matt KellySix bug enthusiasts arrived at the North entranceof the Arena Forest Reserve on Cumuto-TumpunaRoad for a look at the insectcommunities of the 1546 hectare (over 3800acre) reserve.According the welcome sign there, constructedby the Forestry Division, we wereabout to experience “Evergreen SeasonalForest”, with an annual rainfall of around 200– 300 cm. The sign also told us that “Arena”is an Amerindian word for “Place of Sand”,and this was also the site of “one of themembers of the Bug Group on Morne CatherinefrontL-R: Shane Ballah, Dan Jaggernauthback L-R: Paula Smith, Christopher Starr, Rakesh Bhukal, Matt Kelly

Page 14 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013bloodiest encounters recorded between theAmerindians and the Spaniards in 1699.”As we made our way into the forest onsome very fine and well kept trails, we encounteredthe fineleaf tree (Pentaclethra macroloba),which was the predominant treehere. Dan Jaggernauth showed us the “seacoconut” palm (Manicaria saccifera) with itsping pong ball-sized seeds, which, when cutopen, have the taste of miniature coconuts.We also came upon the large wooden thimbleseed caps under the guatecare tree(pronounced “water-care”) (Eschweilera subglandulosa).Another tree we encounteredwas the matchwood (Shefflera morototoni).It wasn’t long into the forest that we encounteredbugs. Christopher Starr pointedout (but not too close) one of Trinidad’s onlyarboreal ant, Anochetus emarginatus, whichmakes its home out of shredded leaf litter,and is related to the infamous tock-tock antwith its mighty sting. A large tarantula hawkwasp (Pepsis sp.) stopped close by to checkthe area for potential prey. Starr and Hooklist 13 species of Pepsis in T&T. It paralyzeslarge spiders with one of the world’s mostpowerful stings, lays its eggs on its prey, andwhen its young hatch on the still-living spider,the larva will feast on fresh meat.Christopher pointed out 3 types of termitesalong the way; Microcerotermes arboreus,Nasutitermes corniger, and Termes hispaniolae.All three of these species build a nest whichDan Jaggernauth shows us thefruit of the “Sea Coconut” Palm(Manicaria saccifera)Termites nestat base of tree(Continued on page 18)

Page 15 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013Anochetus emarginatusnestTrinidad’s only arboreal antAnochetus emarginatusnest made shreddedleaf litterNasutitermes cornigerOne of three types ofTermites seen

Page 16 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/20131Page 16, pic 1 : paper wasp hive, of Polybia striataPage 17, pic 2 : Ground itch bush, Irlbachia alataproduces a secretion that attracts antsPage 16, pic 3 : Ants are attracted to the flower walls“extrafloral nectarines” of Irlbachia alata

Page 17 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/201323

Page 18 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013TTFNC Bug Trip to Arena Forest Reserve(Continued from page 14)starts at the base of a tree at ground level,and works its way up the trunk of the tree,until after many years of constant buildingand adding, it may present an imposing structuremuch taller than a man. In 2003, Scheffrahn,Starr (et. all) noted there are 55 termitespecies in T&T.We searched many buttress notches, lookingfor spiders and other insects. We foundmany, including the golden-orb silk weaver(Nephila clavipes), one of the most widely distributedorb-weavers in the tropics. We encountereda pair of small dung beetles (a.k.a“kaka rollers”) rolling their load. We foundthe large black ant, Pachycondyla crassinoda,Trinidad’s largest ant, that feeds on termites,especially the corniger, among other things.For me, it was difficult not to search forbirds, as the forest was alive with them. Itried to keep my focus on the bugs. Soonafter we entered the forest, we came upon alarge and active lek of White-bearded Manakins,and a little farther along, we encounteredanother active lek of about 8 – 12Green Hermit hummingbirds. Among otherbirds I identified were; Rock Pigeon, RuddyGround-Dove, Green-backed Trogon, CollaredTrogon, Channel-billed Toucan, OrangewingedParrot, Plain-brown Woodcreeper,Cocoa Woodcreeper, Great Kiskadee, Rufous-breasted Wren, Spectacled Thrush, SilverbeakedTanager, Blue-gray Tanager, Palm Tanager,Bananaquit, Yellow-rumped Cacique, andCrested Oropendola . If only my birding earwas better, I could have added plenty more.We paused to examine a plant which ShaneBallah is particularly interested in. We foundmany later on our trip. Looking in theTTFNC Guide to Flowers of Trinidad and Tobago,the plant appears to be in there, andidentified as “Tabaquillia” or Chelonanthus alatus.Kenny also shows a plant which resemblesthis one, which he identifies as “GroundItch Bush” or Irlbachia alata. Kenny goes onto state that this is a common roadside plant,which may flower for many months. Also,according to Kenny, ants are attracted to theflower walls. In a web search of the two speciesnamed above, Irlbachia alata seemed tome to be the relevant plant we were lookingat.Shane has been studying the relationship of amystery ant to this plant. The plant appearsto host extrafloral nectaries on the base ofthe flowers and flower buds, that can beclearly seen in the photo. The same plantalso appears to have some other type of extrafloralnectary, or additional growth, thatapparently attracts the ants. Growing on thebase of the leaf stems, instead of a nectarstation, as in many extrafloral nectaries, thisplant appears to have a ridge-type growth ormembrane, which the ants will appear toreadily eat, maybe even sooner than the extrafloralnectaries on the base of the flowersand buds. I purposely disturbed a plantwhere several ants appeared to be feeding totest their defense reaction. In all cases, theants did not defend the plant but fled. Thissymbiotic relation is a new mystery waitingto be unraveled.We walked the trail network to BarkerTrace, then along Balata Branch Road till we

Page 19 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013reached Cumuto-Tumpuna Road and walkedback our vehicles. Along the way, we encountereda large social paper wasp hive,which Christopher later identified as Polybiastriata. We walked through a mora forest,and a palm forest on the way out. We saw abeautiful King Shoemaker butterfly (Preponademophon), that was too wary to be photographed,a chirping arboreal grasshopper, andmany nice wildflowers.During our time in the Arena Forest Reserve,we passed six hunters on our trek,one with a 12 gauge shotgun, who said hewas shooting with “heavy load.” The othersmay have had dogs, as I heard hunting dogs inthe not-too-far distance. I asked each hunterwhat he was looking for. All of them said,“Deer.”All in all, we had a lovely day, and we saw alot of nature, confirming the TTFNC Motto,“Natura Maxime Miranda in Minimis” (Natureis most remarkable in the least). I wouldrecommend the Arena Forest Reserve as abeautiful and peaceful place to observe nature.Families of Trinidad and Tobago (Araneida).Living World, Journal of the Trinidad and TobagoField Naturalist’s Club: 67 – 77.STARR, C. K., and A. W. HOOK. (2003). TheAculeate Hymenoptera of Trinidad, West Indies.p 1-31. SCHEFFRAHN, R. H., J. KRECEK,B. MAHARAJ, J. A. CHASE, J. R. MANGOLD,and C. K. STARR. (2003). Termite Fauna(Isoptera) of Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies. p33-38 Occasional Paper #12, Occasional Papersof the Department of Life Sciences, Universityof the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad.TYLER, Bonnie J. and Yasmin BAKSH-COMEAU, 2012, Trinidad and Tobago WildflowerGuide, printed by Rainforest Publicationsfor the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalist’sClub.QUESNEL, Victor C., T. Francis FARRELL &Paul L. COMEAU, 2005. Native Trees of Trinidad& TobaSources:BARCANT, Malcolm, 1970, Butterflies of Trinidadand Tobago, Collins Press, London, 314pagesKENNY, Julian S., 2006, Flowers of Trinidad andTobago, Prospect Press, Port of Spain, 140pages, ISBN 976-95057-8-1SEWLAL, J. N., 2010. Annotated List of Spider

Page 20 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013Field Trip Report, Sunday November 27, 2011Rampanalgas/Balandra WaterfallReport by Chennile KhanThe usual early start on Sunday morning, ataround 6:15, approximately thirteen vehiclesassembled outside the south gate of UWI.Upon having a brief introduction by theleader, Dan Jaggernauth, and Selwyn’s ensuringthat all participants had received a fieldnaturalist's calendar for 2012, we departed ataround 6:47 to our destination, the Balandra/Rampanalgas Waterfall. This waterfall is atwo level waterfall since it consists of bothan upper pool and a lower one. At the lowerlevel the water forms a small deep pool thatis suitable for swimming, while the upperlevel consists of a shallower pool suitable forbathing only.After following Dan for about an hour and ahalf, we arrived at the starting point of thehike at 8:20 am. Everyone secured their vehicleson the gravel road near to an emptyarea of land in which there were many sheep.Dan advised the participants that the hikewas not a long one and that we would be encounteringa lot of different varieties ofplants. While giving a briefing to the groupassembled on the road, Dan pointed out tous the corn bird nest that was located onone of the adjacent trees. The occupants ofthese birds' nests are usually the crestedoropendola, Psarocolius decumanus.As we began our journey to the waterfall wefirst encountered the Virola Surinamensis,commonly known as the wild nutmeg tree.The fruit of this tree provides a food sourcefor the pawi bird. More familiarly known asthe piping guan, Pipile pipile, the pawi is an arborealbird that is currently one of the endangeredspecies of birds in Trinidad. Continuingon our journey, we came across thebalisier, Heliconia psittacorum. These flowersare tropical flowers and are often visited byhummingbirds. Adjacent to the heliconiawere also cut logs indicating logging activity;it was, however, difficult to determinewhether the logging was legal or illegal.Advancing on our journey once again wediscovered seaside grape tree, Coccoloba uvifera..These are evergreen trees with verylarge, broad leaves whose flowers are producedin spikes; the fruit are edible in certainmembers of this family. Proceeding along thegravel road again, the group came across junipertrees, Genipa americana . The fruit ofthis tree is a berry and is rounded andbrown much like the sapodilla, Manilkarazapota. These fruits are edible and they aremuch used to manufacture drinks, jellies, preservesand syrups when they are soft andoverripe.Also found along the path was Scleria secans,also known as razor grass belonging to theCyperaceae family. These sedges usually cutwhen pulled against the skin. Also found onthe way was Desmoncus smoncus belonging toa family of climbing palms. The stems of theseare used for the weaving of baskets andsieves. Near to the palm was also a bunch ofMimosa pudica also commonly called the sen-

Page 21 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013sitive plant. These are perennial herbs inwhich the compound leaves fold inwards anddroop whenever they are touched or shaken.They usually reopen after a few minutes sothey can continue to act as a toy for us.Proceeding again, our group came across alarge matchwood tree, Schcfflera morototoni.We also came across a large tree with Palicoureaflowers. These trees have very fineleaves and are usually used for timber. As wemade our way forward again along the pathway,our group came across cocorite palmtrees, Maximiliana caribaea. The fruits ofthese trees are very sweet and are muchpreferred by squirrels.Our group also made a wonderful discoverywhen we came across the mandevillaserta flower. Dan notified us that the flowerwas edible and insisted that I try it. Thoughhesitant at first, eventually I tried it eating thepetal of the flower which tasted exactly likepomerac, Syzygium malaccense. These vibrantflowers are red and yellow and beautify thefloor of the tree when they fall. Anotheramazing discovery we encountered was anothervariety of the heliconia flower, the Heliconiabalisier. In Trinidad this flower is a politicalsymbol; its bracts may be used for floraldecorations. Our last finding before we arrivedat the upper level of the Balandra/Rampanalgas waterfall was the serrette fruitalso known as the Byrsonima spicata. Serretteis in the same family as the Barbados cherryand produces a useful timber used for tanning.The serrette fruit is edible with a sweetand sour taste and can be used for makingjam and jellies.was a bit difficult to get to the pool as thepathway was very slippery. Dan had managedto tie a rope along the way up to the fall inorder to help the participants reach the poolso that they could have enjoyed the cold, relaxingwater. Most participants ventured intothe pool and, in my opinion, the waterfall wasamazing. It was extremely cold at first butafter acclimatizing to its temperature the waterwas very soothing. Some of the participantsalso took a dive into the lower poolwhich was of a greater depth. After everyonerelaxed and had lunch, we proceeded on ourway back along the initial pathway that wehad taken. After a short time we were backagain on the gravel road where our vehicleswere parked. After changing from our wetclothes into more comfortable ones, we alldeparted, going in our separate directions. Imust say that it was indeed a very educationaland interesting hike. Though it wasshort I had a lot of fun while learning aboutplant species. I impatiently await the upcominghikes and I am sure all the participantsfeel the same way.Finally we arrived at the actual waterfall. It

Page 22 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' ClubLecture to monthly meeting of 8th November 2012JACK SPANIARDS IN THE SCHEME OF THINGSChristopher K. StarrDep't of Life SciencesUniversity of the West Indiesckstarr@gmail.comPolistes is a worldwide genus of about 200known species of independent-founding socialwasps, known in the West Indies as "JackSpaniards". They are characterized by smallcolonies on exposed, single-comb nests. Asin all aculeate hymenoptera, only the femalehas a stinger. Members of the New Worldgenus Mischocyttarus resemble Polistes inthese and other features and are sometimesknown by the same common name.Jack Spaniards are quite generalized in mostphysical and behavioural aspects, the outstandingexception being their conspicuousthreat displays if the colony is menaced. Agiven species will tend to have a characteristicarray and sequence of threats. This leadsto the question of whether there is a significantdifference between those individualsthat ultimately attack if pressed beyond merethreats and those that are just bluffing. Astudy of P. lanio in Trinidad shows that blufferstend to go through their sequence ofthreats a little faster than attackers, and thatthey commonly utilize an additional display(wing flutter) that attackers do not.Polistes have been a favoured group for studiesaimed at understanding the origin of socialityin insects. The critical question arisesin that stage of the nesting cycle where thequeen's first adult daughters emerge. InPolistes, unlike in solitary wasps, these remainon the nest as helpers of their mother,rather than departing to nest on their own.Despite decades of study, there is not yet anyfirm consensus on how or why this evolutionarytransition took place.A much less discussed question is why noPolistes population, as far as we know, has revertedto solitary life. We know it cannot bedue to any absolute evolutionary obstacle,since the queen carries out all the tasks of asolitary wasp prior to the emergence of herfirst daughters. Is there, then, some universaladvantage to sociality in Polistes, so that naturalselection cannot favour a return to solitarynesting? The answer is not known.However, the observation P. fuscatus continuesto be social right up to the northernlimit of the genus's range in eastern NorthAmerica suggests that there is such an advantage.The Naturalists' Club's Bug Group is studyingthe colony-level life tables of P. lanio andM. rotundicollis in Nariva, with a view to contributingto the answer of this question,among others. Present indications are thatcolony mortality is exceptionally high in thefounding stage, before the queen is aided byworkers, then becoming much lower as colo-

Page 23 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013nies grow and mature at an accelerated pace.This is consistent with the hypothesis thatdaughters who remain on the nest as workersare making an investment that will pay offmuch better than if they left to nest on theirown.BibliographyRoss, K.G. & R.W. Matthews (eds.) 1990. TheSocial Biology of Wasps. Ithaca: Cornell Univ.Press 678 pp. See chapter on Polistes byH.K. Reeve.Starr, C.K. 1990. Holding the fort: Colonydefense in some primitively social wasps. Pp.421-63 in: D.L. Evans & J.O. Schmidt (eds.),Insect Defenses. Albany: SUNY Press.(www.ckstarr.net/cks/1990-DEFENSE.pdf )Starr, C.K. & A.W. Hook 2003. The aculeateHymenoptera of Trinidad, West Indies. Occ.Pap. Dep't Life Sci. Univ. West Indies (12):1-31. (Revised version at www.ckstarr.net/aculeates.pdf )A PARAGRAPH NOTED IN PASSINGChristopher K. StarrOccasionally in natural-history books andtraveler's tales, I come upon remarks aboutTrinidad or Tobago that interest me. Theamerican herpetologist and museum directorThomas Barbour (1884-1946) spent a greatdeal of time in the West Indies, especiallyCuba and the Bahamas, with quick visits tomany of the other islands. In his autobiography,Barbour (1943:127) had this oneparagraphcomment about a founding memberof the Trinidad Field Naturalists' Club andthe endemic golden tree frog:"Our visit to Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, was agreat event, for I met then for the first timeFred Urich, with whom I had correspondedfor years. Someone had just brought him aliving tiny frog of the genus Amphodus, hithertounknown from Trinidad, a lovely little goldenyellowcreature, tiny but with eyes like jewels.This is found in bromeliaceous plants in thehighest lands of the island, and he generouslygave it to me to take back to Cambridge. Hewas always doing things of this sort. I visitedhim again several years later in his home outsidePort-of-Spain, and was saddened later onwhen the news came of his death."The Trinidad Field Naturalists' Club, forerunnerof the present Trinidad and Tobago FieldNaturalists’ Club was founded in 1891 byeight men (Carr 1991-1992). The 1991-1992issue of the Living World has biographicalsketches of five of these, but Friedrick WilliamUrich is not among them. Most of the verysparse biographical information about thisgovernment entomologist (as far as I know)was published by Carr (1991-1992) and Boos(2001:16-19).(Continued on page 27)

Page 24 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013We Go To Grenada 1975Feature Serial by Hans Boos(Part 3b)Terry sat there, naked except for his jockeyshorts,attempting to pull on his shoes. Thedetails of how or why he got there we neverwith certainty were able to find out, and I amnot sure even he really knew. It involved anotherdarkened room in another housedown the hill and across the road from "TheHiltons", a naked reluctant girl, and a oneleggedboy-friend who had come looking forher. It went on and on, each fantastic detailof his story more ridiculous and hilariousthan the last.We helped him into his clothes, which lay ina crumpled bundle beside him in the middleof the road, and he said he was going to jointhe crowd from the house, which, due to theoverall black-out, had migrated down to thejunction rum-shop. Though we tried to dissuadehim, he told us there was nobody leftup at "The Hiltons", and he felt he would bebetter off in the darkness, in a strange country,with his new drinking buddies or "mates"as he now referred to them. He would getback to "The Hiltons," and whatever bed hecould find. We arrived at the bar, which waswithin easy walking distance from the"Hiltons," and we went inside with Terry.We declined to have anything to drink, that isJulius and I, but Terry somewhat sobered upby whatever his experience in the pitch blackhouse with the equally amorphous girl hadbeen, accepted a glass of the deadly whiterum, and when the assembled mass ofGrenadians raised their glasses and shoutedin unison the name of a well-known Australiancricketer, "Colin Cowdry," Terry toolifted his glass and they all tossed the rumdown their collective throats. Glasses wererefilled and Terry offered his toast, this timeto a West Indian cricketer, "Gary Sobers" —and more glasses were emptied. We snuckout of the lantern-lit bar to the sounds offamous cricketer names, alternately Australianand West Indian, the only language currencythat either side could accept and/orunderstand, names that were bowled or batted,back and forth by Grenadian crowd andAussie hero, still standing, a white pebble ona black volcanic sand beach. How long hewould survive, his single memory for namesagainst the collective consciousness for asport they all lived and breathed we neverfound out, for we left him there, the namesechoing back and forth, punctuated by loudcheers as each name was commemoratedwith another drink. "Khanhai!" "Raaaay!""Locke!" "Raaay!" "Ramadin!" "Ay-yai-yai,raaay!"We drove down the road away from the bar.It was two in the morning, we had caught nomore snakes. We had to get some sleep ourselves,somewhere. Down the western coastroad, back towards St Georges for a fewmiles until, in a lay-by overlooking the sea,and where the sea-breezes blew throughopen windows of the parked car, we unrolledour pallets of foam rubber over the frontand back seats, and fell asleep to the crashing

Page 25 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013of the surf below, and the creaking and pipingof the ubiquitous and never silent frogs.Dazzling light from the morning sun over theeastern horizon woke us cramped andchilled. Sunday was dawning, and as we rosefrom our makeshift beds in the car, people inSunday clothes were trooping past, prayerbooks and bibles clutched in their hands.There must have been a church or meetinghallnearby, and as we busied ourselves ingetting organized to go in search of Terry, wewere subject to intense stares of curiosity asthe people walked by.As we drove up to "The Hiltons" the firstthing we saw was Terry, sitting again almostnaked under the stand-pipe in the yard, thewater jetting over his bowed head, his hairplastered over his skull like a helmet. Heheard the car pull up and he smiled a wrygreeting at us. He had slept like a baby andwas ready to go on. We gathered up ourgoods, the back-packs and the bagged snakes,and sought out Doon-Dan or Dr Bones.Doon-Dan, we were told, had gone into thevillage or town of Sauteurs to attend a paradeof some sort that was being staged andno, they had caught no snakes as they hadsaid they were sure to do, and would spendthe day making up the deficit and keepingtheir promise. If we did not find Doon-Danin Sauteurs, he would meet us at the"Starlight V," that late afternoon in time forsailing. Without fail. We thanked Dr Bonesfor his hospitality at "The Hiltons" and forthe tender care of Terry in our absence. Hebeamed and invited us back. Any time. Anytime at all.In Sauteurs we finally located Doon-Dan. Hewas taking part in, or commanding — wewere not sure which — the parade, a motleyand ragged group of Boy Scouts, Wolf Cubs, afew khaki-clad cadets, and a policeman ortwo. A few out-of-tune brass instruments,and a drum or two were tooted and blared,thudded and thumped in an attempt to getthe group of boys and men to march, in step,down the street. Amongst them, and aheadof them, ran Doon-Dan, his arms waving, andhis voice insistent, that, like the commandshe had heard given to marching soldiers andpolicemen during the Independence paradesin Trinidad, the troops here in Sauteurs,should march to his shouted cadence. "Left!Left! Left!" he yelled drunkenly, without therequired pause for the right footstep. Theconfused marchers stumbled into one another,trying to march only with their leftfeet, to please and to conform with the obviouslymore knowledgeable and bigger-islandwiseDoon-Dan.It was impossible to bring St John down toearth with what he considered the mundanedetails of what he had been brought to Grenadato do. He was in command of his ownlittle army, and his troops were doing theirbest to please him and the real policemenwere too amused to interrupt this son-ofthe-soilof Grenada from providing entertainmentfor the gathered Sunday morningcrowd of perhaps one hundred inhabitants ofSauteurs and surrounding villages. We managedto collar him for a moment and to tellhim we were leaving without him and that heshould make his way down to the port in StGeorges; and be on time for the sailing ofthe schooner for he was expected to be atwork on Monday morning, in Trinidad. He

Page 26 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013assured us that he would be there, that DrBones and his cronies would drive him downto the capital to catch the sailing of the"Starlight V."I had had no time to make any other arrangementsto fly back to Trinidad, and Isteeled myself to having to make the returntrip on the schooner. We left Sauteurs, shakingour collective heads in disbelief at whatwe had encountered so far, and felt fortunatethat we had at least the promise of onemonkey, and we did have a bag full of thechoicest colours and sizes of the beautifulGrenada sarpints.But we were badly in need of a bath. Terryhad managed to sit under the sputteringstandpipe as he soaked his head to dissipatethe alcohol from the night before, but Juliusand I were feeling the effects of the last twodays, and the rising heat in the car in themorning as the sun heated up the day impelledus to search for the river pool thatJulius assured us should be somewhereinland on the road back to the capital. Weturned inland at a sign that pointed to a waterfall,and after a few miles of winding roadthat threaded its way between plantations ofcocoa, coffee and bananas, we emerged at acrossroad.Here the road widened, and a paved area offto the side provided parking for any touristcars, the occupants of which may have beenencouraged to take in the mediocre sight ofa jungle river pouring over a modest fall andinto a basin of brooding greenish-black water.As we drew up and began to get out of thecar, we were mobbed by a gaggle of skinnyyoung men who clamoured to be our guidesto see the waterfall, which, after all, was alreadyin plain sight. They mistook us fortourists, which I suppose, technically, wewere, and were quite dismayed when welaughed off their exhortations in our recognizableTrinidadian accents. They were alsoadamant that no one but they were traditionallyknown to swim in the basin, whenthey saw us take towels out of the back ofthe car and begin to make our way down therutted path towards the pool by these menand the waterfall.Getting to the pool-side, a quick glance atthe floating debris on the surface of the water,and the splashing mob of young boys andmen churning up the water, and the incessantplummeting jumps from a ledge above thepool of these same men, who began to shoutand haggle us to pay to see them jump offthe ledge, which they were accustomed tooffering to embarrassed and intimidatedtourists as a pale imitation of the cliff-diversof Acapulco. With knowing looks of assentwe decided we would seek our bath elsewhere,and without hurting any feelings welet the occupants of the pool know that wehad been there before (both figuratively anduntruthfully) and, in fact, were more interestedin whether they had seen any snakes inthe area, either the sarpints or, especially, thelocal "black snake" or "cribo."Incredulity, as usual, gave way to interest atthe offer of a reward for spotting a snake,and word spread rapidly through the twentyor so men in and around the pool. As webegan to make our way back up to the car

Page 27 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013we were followed by an inquisitive group ofyounger boys who enquired what we weredoing with the snakes if we caught them, andwhether we had caught any yet. We assuredthem that we indeed had, and were proceedingto the car to show them that we had notlied about having some, and that we wouldpay a reward to get just a few more, when ashout from the side of the car-park of, "Lookone!" pulled all eyes to the pointing finger ofthe wiry teenager standing beneath a spreadingyoung mimosa tree that stretched itsslender branches over the car-park, providinga cool, dappled, shady area.A PARAGRAPH NOTED IN PASSING(Continued from page 23)ReferencesBarbour, T. 1943. Naturalist at Large. Boston:Little, Brown 314 pp. Available online athttp://archive.org/detailsnaturalistatlarg00barb.Sure enough, as we gathered below the pointhe was indicating, we saw the coiled ball of alarge, deep-red sarpint. The tree was climbable,and as Julius opted to be the one to goup and to shake it down to one of us, themost vociferous and loud-mouthed of themen who had shown some anger at our refusalto pay to see him leap awkwardly offthe ledge into the pool, pushed forward fromthe now open-mouthed group of his peers.(to be continued in QB2 2013)Tobago. College Station: Texas A&M Univ.Press 270 pp.Carr, A. 1991-1992. History of the Trinidadand Tobago Field Naturalists' Club: The years1891-1953.Boos, H.E.A. 2001. The Snakes of Trinidad andManagement NoticesNew members; Volunteers; PublicationsTTFNC QUARTERLY BULLITENS ONLINE LINK:http://ttfnc.org/photojournals/index.htmlNew MembersThe Club warmly welcomes the following new members:Junior members:Ordinary members: Glendon Nawrang, Orville Melville,Ravi Maharaj and Sandra Maharaj (as Family members),Winston BoodooNew life members:

Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ ClubP.O. Box 642, Port of Spain, Trinidad and TobagoPUBLICATIONSThe following Club publications are available to members and non-members:The TTFNCTrail GuideMembers :TT$160.00The NativeTrees of T&T2nd EditionMembers :TT$80.00Living WorldJournal 1892-1896 CDMembers :TT$95.00Living World Journal 2008Living World Journal back issuesMembers price : freeLiving World 2012 supplementDue to limited supply Living World 2012 supplements are $20.00 each.MISCELLANEOUSThe Greenhall TrustStarted in 2005, in memory of Elizabeth and Arthur Greenhall, dedicated artist and zoologist respectively, theTrust offers financial assistance to aspiring artists and biologists (in areas of flora and fauna) in Trinidad andTobago. Full details are available on their website: http://www.greenhallstrust-wi.org/link.htmYour 2013 Annual Membership Fees are Due:Please view bottom right of the mailing label to check if your subscripition has been paid.Submission of articles and field trip reports:1. All articles must reach the editor by the eighth week of each quarter.Submission deadline for the 2nd Quarter 2013 issue is May 31, 2013.2. Electronic copies can be submitted to the ‘Editor’ at: admin@ttfnc.orgor directly to the editor or any member of Management. Please includethe code QB2013-2 in the email subject label.