Working indoors most of the day...

Almost the entire day today was spent indoors organizing and analyzing last year's data, including incubation time, brooding time, feeding time, and cleaning time. All part of the necessary work to achieve quality work. Sigh.

So when I had the chance to go outside and helped out a little, I was more than glad to contribute.

The sidewalk Camphor tree again. The barbet photographed is the male adult. It has a much cleaner and brighter plumage than the female, and when we checked again in the afternoon, there were still three eggs.

But after being outside for less than fifteen minutes, co-workers at another nest site had successfully captured the female adult and required assistance back in the office for physical measurements and leg-banding. So back to the office again.

Before leaving work in the afternoon, I photographed the caterpillar again. Initially, the situation looked the same as usual until I noticed a few small insects inside the container as well.

There were tens of these tiny (about 2-mm in length) wasp-looking insects. It's very likely that they hatched from the cocoons on the poor caterpillar. I saw some of these insects on the dead caterpillar, possibly feeding on it. I wonder if they will get any larger.

Hopefully, I will have the chance to watch my co-workers catch the second of the barbet adult pair tomorrow.

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