Fun Guys: Beehive Cave

Fun Guys: RC, Laurina & Niko

The Fun Guys had another chance to go on a hike and explore more caves. This time, we headed to Marpi Village to what are called the Beehive Caves.
It was only my second time there and the first was with Laurina and DJ last year. I think there are about 4 caves in a system of natural limestone caverns. They were utilized by both the ancient Chamorros and in more recent history, as shelters during WWII.
Cave I
Cave 1 has an actual beehive at the top of its cliff face. I am not sure if this is why they were named so or if it is because of the network of caves that reminded someone of a beehive. Since Laurina and I got stung by paper wasps the first time we went there, I also wondered if that was a common occurrence and if people mistook them for bees. It's a mystery. The entrance to Cave 1 is somewhat hidden in the picture below, but it is to the left of RC.RC and a big column speleothem (cave formation). Limestone is porous and allows water to seep through. Calcite and aragonite dissolves and get deposited, building up over time into stalactites and stalagmites. A column forms when the deposit on the roof cave meets the deposited material on the cave floor.
Niko looks a little worried here but we had a good time exploring the 1st deep and dark cave.
We didn't have proper lights but you can see the stalactites hanging on the cave roof in the picture below. The lot of them were damaged indicating how fragile some of these structures are to disturbances. Pretty major disturbances as you can imagine are earthquakes and the fighting in WWII.
Here are some broken columns that were pretty huge. It looks like enough time has passed and enough minerals deposited that they are fairly glued and have become a part of the cave floor.
Beautiful crystal stalagmites.
RC replacing a broken column.
The patterns in nature are quite beautiful!
Niko noted the different layers of minerals in the cross section of a broken column. It reminded him of petrified wood.
There is some sunshine from outside but mostly at the entrance. Inside can be quite disorienting especially in the total absence of light and muffled sounds.
Cave II
Larina opted to stay outside the caves. We were getting ready to go into the second cave.
Fun guy Niko- he partied quite a bit the night before and almost did not make it to the hike! Good thing Laurina was able to convince him!
Fun Guy RC- Notice the zories (slippers or flip flops) on this guy and imagine going through jagged or slippery rocks. I swear this is how he likes to hike. We have to come up with a nickname for RC.
Beautiful flowing patters on a flowstone.
The darkness was amazing. The unknown was exhilarating. RC led us to a part of the cave I missed the first time.
This was a nice looking column in Cave II.

Artifacts- we found a lot of old rusted out cans, most seemed as if hastily opened.
There were also a lot of empty bottles. Post war offering to the departed? Probably.
There were a lot more tunnels that we did not have time to explore.
There were speleothems called draperies too that look like tattered curtains.
These were awesome looking flowstones that were as high as the cave roof.
Niko said they reminded him of corals. Kind of cool since corals are made out of the same stuff- CaCO3!
Inspecting the rocks more closely.
Lots of formations here.
You can see the Fun Guys sweating here since it was quite humid inside.
Cave IV
We followed the marked trail through the secondary and limestone forest and found what I believe is Cave 4. On our first trip here, Laurina, DJ and I did not follow the trail far enough and missed this cave.

Here is Niko with an artillery fragment. There was also an unexploded grenade close to the opening. Do not pick any of the unexploded ordinances up because they can go off without warning given their deteriorated state.
Here's a gorgeous flowstone in Cave 4.
Entering Cave 4. We still had energy but decided to eat our lunch in the open air room close to the entrance.
Ficus prolixa or Pacific Banyan tree roots from above the cave roof.
These banyans or fig trees are the tronkon nunu to the local Chamorros who believe that the spirits of their ancestors, the taotamonas ("people of before") lives in them. In Tagalog, ninuno or nuno means "forefather" which is another link n the two languages.
There are some dramatic lighting in the nook and crannies of the caverns!
There were lots of WWII artifacts and some from offerings to the departed. We found bottles, cans, ceramics (Chamorro and Japanese), pans and even some wooden saki (Japanese rice wine) buckets.
"Jane" is waiting for her Tarzan.
Unexploded 6 inch heavy artillery shell in Cave 4 that has probably been in the jungle for 66 years. Again: DO NOT TOUCH!


After Cave 4, we got lost for a little bit in the jungle wanting to circumvent the trek back into the entrance of the cave. We rounded a bit too far from where I thought the main entrance was and lost all of the trail markers. It was really hot and humid that I needed to take frequent brakes and lots of cool water to drink. We ended up back tracking to the exit hole and found the trail markers again. Man, that was quite a tiring experience finding the right way out! Thanks, Niko, RC and Laurina! See you later, Fun Guys!

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber

Good Bye, My Gaogao

The Gaogao will die out on Saipan. Gaogao (Erythrina variegata var. orientalis), also known as the Cat's Claw or Coral Tree, is being attacked by the Erythrina gall wasp (Quadrastichus erythrinae) or EGW .


INFECTION AND INFESTATIONThe tiny wasps (females are 1.5mm; males are 1.0mm) lay their eggs in the young leaves and stem tissue of the Gaogao. The eggs then develop into larvae that feed upon the Gaogao as they mature.
The leaves develop damaging galls (abnormal tumors and outgrowths) and fall off. Petioles and shoots swell up and curl growing in an ineffectual manner. These pictures are of the young Gaogao trees planted across the Hyatt Hotel, Garapan on Coral Tree Road. I took these picture on October 2007. Many of the trees there are dying two years later. There is a loss of growth and vigor for the trees, and heavy infestations can cause attacks from other pests and diseases more easily. Ultimately, the trees will die. I started noticing familiar and well established Gaogao trees on my outings and hikes. Check out this leafless and lifeless giant. I found this dead tree at the Laderan Tanke Trail this year. March was supposed to be the height of this tree's blooming season. Notice the rotting bark on the trunk.The Eythrina gall wasp was first described (Kim et al. 2004) from specimens infecting trees in Singapore, Mauritius, and Reunion. The next two years saw its spread to China, India, Taiwan, Philippines, Florida, American Samoa, Hawai’i and Guam. EGW started showing up on Saipan in 2007. It is uncertain if the wasps originated from Africa according to the discoverers. Our agriculturists believe that Saipan’s pests came from Tinian and Rota. Here is a picture of the wasp's life cycle from Fleming Arboretum:



Former Glory
The Gaogao is one of my favorite native trees in the CNMI. It is also for the native fauna (birds, Marianas Fruit Bat, insects, etc.). It is a tree that can match the beauty and flamboyance of the Flame Tree as I try to convince people to plant more natives. Traditional medicine also utilizes the Gaogao.

A hike through the Laderan Tanke' Trail this past March yielded some evidence in the leaf litter that some Gaogao trees survived to flower another season.


Crafters here also bead together the purplish seeds for necklaces and Bojogo dolls that are marketed to the tourists. Here, the seeds represent the doll's hands and feet.

Erythrina trees have a variety of functions in other locations as well. The flowering of the red flowers (erythros is Latin for red) is highly associated with farming and fishing activities in Taiwan. The flowering is a working calendar by tribal peoples as sign of the arrival of spring. It is a sign for the coastal tribes to start catching flying fish, and for the Puyama tribe to plant sweet potatoes. In American Samoa, the blooming trees signal the return of whales in their waters.

The following pictures are from July 2006 at the American Memorial Park, Garapan.

These are from February 2008 in San Roque at the Park Hotel Parking lot. It was one of the better sites to watch the birds that came out to celebrate the blooming of the Gaogao.

Can you see the Egigi or Cardinal honeyeater (Myzomela cardinalis saffordi) in the picture below? This endemic subspecies of the honeyeaters found in Micronesia is a fervent nectar eater and loves the Gaogao.

There's the Egigi! The Nosa or Bridled white-eye (Zosterops conspicillatus) is usually seen as a hungry insectivore foraging on leaves and twigs. It does not shy away from the delicious nectar brought on by the Gaogao blooms though. Can you see the tiny fella in the picture below? I must have counted more than 20 birds in these trees. I am sorry for not having a camera with a nice zoom feature.

This tree is probably more than 100 ft (30.48m) tall and found in Chalan Kanoa during the 2009 bloom also in February.

These are what the seeds look like as well as the seed pod and flower bracts. These are from the trees of the CNMI Retirement Building, Capitol Hill from February of last year.

In Hawai’i, the wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) another species of Gaogao is a revered native and indigenous tree. It is used as an ornamental as well as for functional landscaping (windbreaks, hedges, erosion control). The soft mature wood has been used for booms and floats for single hull canoes and long surfboards. The seeds are collected and beaded for leis that can fetch up to $500 each. Since the EGW infestation, Hawai’i has tried physical (cutting down or remove and replace), chemical and biological controls to save the wiliwili. . Some people feel that the best way to preserve the wiliwili is to collect and bank as many seeds as they can before they are all gone.

The following images of the wiliwili is from Forest and Kim Starr. The Maui based biologists work for the Univesity of Hawai'i and have an environmental consulting firm for conservation involved in protecting the wiliwili.

The beautiful wiliwili bloom.APPARENT DAMAGE

It is also unfortunate that some people in agriculture and forestry limited the planting of the Gaogao in recent years. They believed that more Gaogao trees would help host and propagate more fruit piercing moths that could eventually infect fruit crops. There is a delicate balance to nature especially in our small islands that is why we should be careful as to what is introduced in our land and waters.

We will eventually see all of the Gaogao trees die in Saipan. An article in the Marianas Variety reports that our entomologists and agriculturists will let them all die thinking that their extinction will lead to the starvation and the eventual elimination of the EGW and fruit piercing moths. In a few years, the Gaogao can be reintroduced free of pests.

This well established tree in Middle Road, San Jose across the Taste of India Restaurant withered and died this year.

I usually look forward to the Gaogao blooms in March. I enjoy watching the full crown of the trees in red and the creatures that come out for the food providing flowers. I also try to show the blooms to as many people as I can so that they are aware of the importance of CNMI’s native trees. Many of the trees that I visit for the flowers are now dead. I will miss the Gaogao sorely.
My heart breaks for you
I will miss seeing you bloom
Good bye, my Gaogao

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber