Santa Rita Experimental Range, Arizona
Grasshopper mice (Onychomys torridus) and pinacate beetles (Eleodes longicollis) live in the Southwestern United States. During the summers of 2016 and 2017, I joined the Rowe lab at the Santa Rita Experimental Range in Arizona to collect these mice and the chemically defended arthropods they consume as food. The lab is especially interested in scorpions, which are caught at night using black lights (middle), because grashopper mice shown an astonishing immunity to their venom. To collect grasshopper mice, we set hundreds of traps in the afternoon (right) and checked them each morning before the sun comes up.
You might wonder, how do you catch a grasshopper mouse. The answer is, surprisingly, cat food. Once lured into a trap, the mice were measured, weighed, and used for behavioral tests evaluating their unique predatory skills.
You might wonder, how do you catch a grasshopper mouse. The answer is, surprisingly, cat food. Once lured into a trap, the mice were measured, weighed, and used for behavioral tests evaluating their unique predatory skills.