Sketch of Archilife Study Tour, September 2018
2018年9月份見識之旅縮影 ![]() For the study tour of September 15, 2018, Ms. Lu Ming-yun led 26 ARF interns and their parents on an ecological tour to learn about owls and silkworms in Shihtan, Miaoli. At the start of the day's activities, team leader Ms. Lu Ming-yun reminded everyone about things to note and what to observe, and gave the interns some background knowledge. ![]() The morning's itinerary brought everyone to Owl Leisure Farm. Guided by the farm's owner, the tour began with a slideshow about the farm, which was established to rescue injured owls and other wild animals. The slideshow also introduced the types, characteristics and habits of owls, and explained that owls are considered protected birds of prey and should not be kept as pets. The guide also explained the reasons for the sharp decline in the number of owls-mainly due to the owls mistakenly entering bird netting installed for crop protection and getting injured or killed, and preying on small animals, such as mice, which have eaten pesticide contaminated crops. During the hike that followed, the guide reminded everyone that signs indicating wild animals along the way would allow them to observe the animals' path of movement. He also told a story about the Chinese box turtle (Cuora flavomarginata), correcting everyone's erroneous impression that it eats snakes, explaining its appearance and anatomy using a model, and teaching everyone how to identify its gender by the dent in its belly. As the Chinese box turtle is used as herbal tonic, it is highly demanded in the China tonic market, and poaching and smuggling are occasionally reported. It is hoped that everyone will learn the importance of wild animal conservation and Leave No Trace through the ecological tour. ![]() After lunch, everyone proceeded to a silkworm ecology farm. The guide began with a background introduction to the history of the silkworm industry in Taiwan. He then showed the paper on which the silkworm lays its eggs, explaining that it takes an average of 10 days for the eggs to hatch. As the eggs do not hatch easily in winter and quality of silk produced is poor, the eggs are normally refrigerated until the following spring or summer for hatching. During different stages of growth, the silkworm will eat mulberry leaves of different tenderness, sheds its skin and changes its body. The guide also clarifies that what is commonly thought to be where the silkworm's eyes are is actually the eye-shape pattern on its chest and its eyes are located on both sides at the top of its head (i.e. where it is commonly thought to be where the nose is). Finally, the guide explained the differences between the round cocoon and the flat cocoon. The former must be boiled to get the silk but the silk produced can become separated or tangled over time; the latter is having several silkworms weaving on a flat surface, which corrects the former's problem but is time consuming. At this point, the day's itinerary came to an end. Everyone took a group photo before heading back and looked forward to the next study tour. |