Charleston Daily Mail - Thursday July 15, 2004
Welcome Pests by Brian Bowling, Daily Mail Staff
Boys at the growing Web of Life Ecology Center enjoy a visit from entomologist Gregory Chrislip
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TOM HINDMAN/DAILY MAIL
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Jason Marcum, 12, of Marrowbone Creek has a close encounter of the katydid kind during the
Web of Life Ecology Center's summer camp. The remote, Mingo County center holds boys and girls camps annually.
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NAUGATUCK -- Holding an emperor scorpion by its
stinger, and keeping well out of reach of its claws,
Gregory Chrislip assures his audience that this
particular species of scorpion isn't as deadly as
television and movies might lead them to believe.
While the emperor scorpion is one of the largest
scorpion species, it isn't one of the most poisonous.
"This one would be like a really bad bee sting," he
said.
On the other hand, Chrislip warned the 11 boys and
their seven teenaged mentors not to go out and start
picking up scorpions or handling tarantulas unless
they first get the same training he's had.
"I have done this stuff for 25 years, so don't do what
I'm doing," he said.
Even after 25 years, the insects and spiders are
unpredictable. Chrislip has barely launched into his
talk about the vinegaroon scorpion he brings out next
when the scorpion lives up to its name and sprays him
with a vinegar-like mist.
Afterwards, Chrislip said that's the first time the
scorpion has done that during one of his
presentations.
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TOM HINDMAN/DAILY MAIL
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Gregory Chrislip, center, helps campers identify the bugs they've temporarily captured in their nets.
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An entomologist with the Bureau for Public Health,
Chrislip was a guest speaker at the Web of Life
Ecology Center's "Building Like Bugs" summer camp this
year. The girls' camp was held in June. The boys' camp
was held the week of July 5.
Sister Jane Omlor, who runs the camps, said this is
the third year the center has hosted summer camps.
The center sits on the John A. Sheppard Memorial
Ecological Reservation that Edwina Pepper created from
land she inherited from her father. Pepper was an
early advocate of conserving the state's natural
resources.
Sitting on a ridge above Marrowbone Creek, the
open-air camp is comfortable even on one of the
hottest days the area has seen so far this year. The
same location that gives the camp natural air
conditioning, however, also presents it with some
problems.
Getting there, for example.
The last two miles into the camp consist of a rutted
road that can only be navigated by a vehicle with a
high clearance. Bouncing along the track, it's easy to
imagine how it turns to impassible mud in the rain.
Omlor said the limited access is one of two main
obstacles to maintaining and developing the camp. The
other obstacle is the lack of running water.
All of the water has to be trucked in or collected
from rainfall because the local wells have dried up.
Despite the hardships, however, the center is growing.
Omlor said a large part of the credit for the growth
belongs to St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo,
Ohio, which provides some of the teen-age mentors and
most of the muscle needed to run the camps.
The high school sends groups down about three times a
year to help the developing facility.
"They were here from day one," Omlor said.
Joel Arnold, 16, of Toledo said the high school
emphasizes public service and giving back to the
community. Having a large Madagascar hissing cockroach
climb up his arm was just a side benefit.
"It tickles a bit," he said.
The roaches were the one exotic insect Chrislip
brought that the students could handle. Resembling
beetles more than domestic cockroaches, the
thumb-sized insects hiss to scare off predators and
attract mates.
Chrislip said he started giving bug presentations
about 15 years ago at the urging of his graduate
school instructors. His main reward is the look on the
students' faces.
"To me, it's just getting the kids to see things
they'll never see again," he said.
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TOM HINDMAN/DAILY MAIL
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In addition to chasing bugs and engaging in usual summer camp activities, campers help improve the private,
nonprofit facility. Sister Jane Omlor displays the customized bricks the campers made for a decorative wall.
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Like a palm-sized Costa Rican zebra tarantula that was
apparently having a bad day. Chrislip held up the
tarantula so the students could see the fangs it was
baring in irritation at being handled.
In general, tarantulas avoid biting, he said. Instead,
tarantulas can rake up the barbed hair on their
abdomens so that it attaches to and irritates the
other creature.
Aaron Vance, 6, of Chattaroy said the camp had turned
out better than he expected.
"I like the bug man because he has cool bugs," he
said.
Adam Kaverman, 16, of Toledo also gave the experience
a good review but said it took some adjustment.
"It's a lot different -- showering with rainwater and
sleeping in tents," he said.
More information on the camp and the center is
available on the Web at www.biglaurel.org.
Contact writer Brian Bowling at [304] 348-4842.
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