She relies on the good will of private landowners, the Kentucky Geological Survey, and other government agencies which control access to the cave sites. She also requires help. Safe caving is a team effort , so she never works alone. On a recent trip, White returned to Overlook Cave near Somerset, Kentucky to check on her experimental setups. Using a series of hoops, she's able to measure how successful the cave crickets are at producing offspring.
Some hoops prevent the beetles from reaching the cricket eggs.
Others have gaps, allowing the predatory beetles access to the eggs. The crickets in Overlook Cave belong to the genus Hadenoecus. Darlingtonea kentuckensis and Neaphaenops tellkampfi. It's the same behavior in two completely separate cave systems. But there is absolutely no gene flow between the species.