MEET THE NEIGHBORS

There are many issues to deal with when doing fieldwork: physical stress, emotional stress, sometimes language/cultural difficulties and misunderstandings, inclement weather, running out of supplies, and of course many others, but one thing that I am still trying to get used to is living with what I call “creepy crawlies”, or the insects, spiders, lizards, and snakes that constantly surround me (I apologize to my aunt, L.L.’s husband, and any other entomologist (or non-entomologist) that I might offend with my choice of words and lack of scientifically accurate descriptions/taxonomy within this post).

I will admit that there are some interesting creatures here that are of colors, sizes, and shapes that I have never seen before.  They are definitely interesting enough to stare at for a few minutes and document with a photo.  But, I wish that would be where my interaction with these animals would end.  These animals are interesting from afar, but creepy when they get just a little too close or even on you.  

It is not a good feeling when you wake up in the middle of the night hearing scratching noises in your tent.  Only after a minute, when you have fully woken up and found your headlamp, do you realize that the noise is not coming from inside your tent, but rather from underneath it.   That is only a small consolation.  In the morning I checked and found that termites had made their home under my tent.  At first I thought I’d leave them in peace (they eat wood, not plastic, right?), but the noise started driving me crazy, and eventually one little hole started to appear….that was it.  The hole got duct taped, and hot water was poured under my tent. (Again, sorry to anyone who feels for the dead termites).

Besides the termites, there is now a lizard (it’s either one of the smaller agamas or skinks running around) that likes to go under my tent and scare me half to death when I accidentally step on it before lifting my foot allowing it to scamper away.  Or, I simply hear it scuttling under my tent in the middle of the night.  There is also a snake (which I have yet to get a picture of or identify) that lives in the “office” next to my tent; I found this out when it startled me by slithering under my chair about an inch away from my foot.  I’m hoping it’s a non-venomous snake, but the field assistants are convinced that it is a baby cobra (though they’ve never seen it).  I actually like reptiles, just not when they could potentially kill me (i.e. the snake if it is a cobra) or when they give me a near heart-attack in the middle of the night (i.e the lizard).

There are also numerous spiders that have made their homes on the side of my tent and between my tent and the rainfly.  Thankfully none have gotten inside, but every now and then I have to remove a spider and their web when it gets too close to the door.  I have also had various beetles and caterpillars stay on the side of my tent for a few days at a time, and just the other day saw a praying mantis that was hanging out.  These don’t bother me too much anymore……as long as they stay outside of my tent.  And I should say, out of my field bag; just the other night I was in the “office” working on my computer when I heard a sound coming from my backpack next to me.  It sounded a bit like plastic slowly being crumpled.  I glanced around quickly and did not see anything, so I went back to work.  A few minutes later I heard the sound again.  This time I stopped and emptied out my bag.  Nothing was in there that could explain the noise.  I went back to work and heard the noise again.  Now, I looked at every inch of the bag.  On the underside of one of the shoulder straps was a big Giant African Millipede.  Thankfully, they are not dangerous (unlike centipedes that are venomous), but I still consider them unwelcome on me or on my things.  I got a stick to try and transfer it to the ground, but it would not let go of my backpack…it was holding on for dear life with every one of it’s little legs.  Finally after more prodding and shaking, I got it on the ground.  Now each morning I check inside my boots and my backpack before putting them on!

My feet may be small (this boot is a men's size 6), but that is still one big millipede!

I’ve also encountered spiders of many sizes and colors while out in the forest and woodland.  Again, fascinating to look at…from a distance.  I don’t like walking and all of sudden getting a web in my face.  Even once you remove the web, you feel as if there is something on your face the rest of the day.  My remedy to this problem is to make one of the field assistants go first (then they get webbed) or to walk around swinging a stick in front of me (which makes me look like a crazy person, but at least amuses the field assistants).  Then of course there are tsetse flies, house flies, honey bees, mosquitoes and sweat bees that are flying around everywhere.  Thankfully the flies aren’t too bad here because of the high altitude, and I’ve been in places (even within the US) with many more mosquitoes, but the bees are just obnoxious.  They fly around your head and buzz so loudly that it’s hard to concentrate on work at times.  And I got stung just the other week when a bee flew up the sleeve of my poncho and freaked out when it got stuck.  But the sweat bees are by far the most annoying insect here.  Not only do they swarm you and buzz around your head, but they fly right into your eyes and ears.  Bug spray (herbal or deet) does not deter them.  The only solution is to wear a headnet.  They will still swarm and buzz, but at least they are kept out of your eyes and ears.  However, the headnets make it hard to see and can get very hot.

Wasp nest

Encountering these types of animals is just part of living in a tent and being outdoors, so I am never surprised to see them, but I keep hoping that they will stop getting so close.  I don’t think these animals feel the same way; they have no issues with landing on me or my things, so for now, we’ll just have to try and live peacefully as neighbors.