Althea “Thea” G.
WISRD Member
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Entry #1- 8/22/25
Today was chaotic, but really fun. Megan wants to get me more comfortable with microscopes (I’ll likely be looking through them a lot), so for a good chunk of today, I was watching samples from our fish tanks. It was slow work, but I’m here for the journey, not just the action. Either way, it was mesmerizing, and larval snails are weird-looking. I also have some light reading for this weekend (kidding, the books Megan gave me are about five pounds each) to learn more about insect biology before delving into forensic science. Although I originally joined for forensics, I’m really enjoying it all so far, more than I expected. I can’t stop wanting to know more about everything I can get my hands on. Let’s see what I can reach.
Love,
Thea
Entry #2- 8/27/25
Today was pretty chill. I made a pin (unimportant but fun) and yelled at Jared (the pin maker). I’ve also added a few links to my NoodleTools, which, for some inexplicable reason, I chose to subject myself to. Unfortunately, the humanities teachers may have had a point because it’s really helping to keep me organized. Anyways, I think I’ve officially chosen to begin studying bot flies, so I’ve been looking at them and their morphology. I really need to update my researcher profile, though, so see you next time!
Love,
Thea
Entry #3- 9/12/25
Hey! It’s been a while. I’ve been pretty busy. A week ago, we went to Ballona, which was awesome, and succeeded in re-awakening my love for native plants. We settled on my Dark Matter Day station- Mauricio and I are doing a “Paint Your Own Bug” table. I also really dug into the books, finally. I took some good notes and also organized my notebook (long overdue, to be honest). I’ve been doing some more research too, and I’ve found some larvae that Megan may be able to pick up, fingers crossed. If so, this may be one of my last entries in which the words “blow fly” don’t come up at all. Wait, never mind…
Love,
Thea
Entry #4- 9/15/25
I’m super tired, so this is gonna be pretty short. But this week was pretty productive. I picked up the big shiny book of flies on Monday and took some more notes on the old ones. I also sent in my Inquirer pitch, which I’m… not unsatisfied with? Not much to report this week, so see ya Wednesday(?)!
Love,
Thea
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Entry #13- 11/14/25
Ooooooh boy, I have a lot of catching up to do. (I’m gonna update this later, no, I'd BETTER update this later, so for those of you seeing this in the future, I have 4 entries done.) Yeah, not the greatest. Anyway, this week has been pretty good for WISRD. I’ve been looking at housing for my bugs, and I ended up procuring two (very dirty, thanks previous WISRD entomologist) glass terrariums. I spent the next two days finding eggs (THANKS PREVIOUS WISRD ENTOMOLOGIST) in the walls of the terrarium, impaling myself on my cleaning tools, and desicating my hands beyond repair with bleach. I’ve also been thinking about my poster (poster session is coming up wayyyy too fast). I really don’t know how to explain either what I’m doing or what I’ve done, so I guess that’s the next week (and probably Thanksgiving too, if I’m honest), figuring that out. Today (Friday), I found a Quizlet set on forensic entomology and made what I guess is a tableau for decomposition. I learn best from repetition and physical example, so let’s see if this is finally what makes me know these insects like the back of my hand. So yeah. Excitement! Intrigue! And a perpetually-behind amateur high school forensic entomologist trying to catch up! It’s always exhilarating in the amazing world of WISRD forensic ent! Tune in to see what happens next time (probably poster work, yikes) ‘cause right now I'm tuning out. Catch you later!
Love,
Thea
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