Kids (and Schools!) Saving the Rainforest
K ids Saving the Rainforest (KSTR) is a non-profit
organization based in Quepos, Costa Rica, where they operate
a wildlife sanctuary – home to nearly 50 animals who cannot
be released back into the wild.
At the sanctuary, educational tours are offered to the public,
to help people learn about the dangers of human-wildlife
interaction and pet trade, to teach them how to respect wildlife,
and to engage in ecologically responsible tourism.
KSTR operates a rescue centre, with the goal of rehabilitating
over 100 animals each year, to be released back into the wild.
There is a veterinary clinic on-site, as well as a wildlife nursery
with orphaned babies.
The reforestation project helps put up wildlife bridges and
work with electrical companies to minimize wildlife injuries
and deaths caused by electrocution.
KSTR is host to volunteers and interns from all over the
world, some for the day, and some who live on site from two
weeks to over a year. What better reason to visit Costa Rica!
Donations are always needed and gratefully accepted,
100% tax deductible, and many schools choose to fundraise
as a way to help – great idea!
Have you always loved sloths? Sloth sponsorship is also
available, and one of KSTR’s biggest programs. Check out the
cutest photos and donate to help this amazing organization
out! www.kidssavingtherainforest.org
Your Summer Wasp + Bee Guide
CARPENTER BEE
- Acts like it’s the king as they’re territorial.
Males can’t sting, females rarely do
- Has no concept of what glass is
- Lives in your fence or wood siding
(doesn’t like stained or painted wood)
- Flies aggressively to scare you away
HONEY BEE
- The bee we need the most
- The BEST pollinator
- Very friendly
- Can only sting once, but will rarely
sting unless you try to handle it
BUMBLE BEE
- So fat it shouldn’t be able to fly
- Also a pollinator - best for tomatoes
- Form small colonies, usually less than a dozen
- Like a flying panda, gentle and non-aggressive
HOVERFLIES
- Wears yellow stripey uniform to scare you.
Only has two wings, and huge eyes.
- Actually can’t do anything to you (no stingers)
- Follows you if it likes you
- Hangs around fields
PAPER WASP
- Looks scary, and will attack if provoked
- Its sting hurts like heck!
- Will chase you if you shoo it away
- Doesn’t understand the concept
of personal space
YELLOW JACKET
- Wants your food and will
fight you for it
- Never leaves you alone
- Grumpiest of all bees - and
carnivorous (they love bbq season!)
- Can sting more than once,
can be aggressive, and their
sting hurts. A lot.
HORNETS
- No waist, but one scary large
body with a visible stinger
- Super territorial and smart:
A threat can release pheromones to
alert more hornets to attack – and
this scent can stick to human clothing
- Be very weary of this mean beast!
CICADA KILLER
- Looks like a nightmare
- Exclusively eats cicadas (heat bugs)
- Can sting you, but most likely won’t
- Still pretty terrifying
DIRT DAUBER
- Almost never stings anything
but spiders
- Builds nest in the ground
- Hoards spiders in said nest
- Coolest looking of all wasps
The Schmidt Pain Index
This pain scale rates the
relative pain level in different
stinging ‘hymenopteran’
(sawflies, wasps, bees, and
ants), and is the work of
entomologist Justin Schmidt
(born 1947), who claims to
have been stung by just about
every one of these creatures!
Schmidt was co-awarded
the Nobel prize for his
hymenoptera research.
Schmidt gave the highest pain
level (4) to the sting of the
tarantula hawk (wasp), which
he described as “blinding,
fierce, and shockingly
electric.” He also rated the
sting of the bullet ant from
Nicaragua as a 4-plus: “pure,
intense, brilliant pain… like
walking over flaming charcoal
with a three-inch nail
embedded in your heel.”
Finally, Schmidt described
the sting of the warrior wasp
as “Torture. You are chained
in the flow of an active
volcano,” saying the pain lasts
for up to two hours. This
wasp has the most painful
of all wasp stings.
Silver & Gold Magazine ~ SUMMER 2019
Lots more online: www.kidsnaturally.ca
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