click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Now let’s Become anENTOMOLOGIST…

What’s That?

A scientist who studies INSECTS,through research and experiments

Flower BUD

Flower Blossom

Buds

Let’s ask a question about ants and peony buds.Write your question in your science journal.


Do ants help open the peony blossoms?

Write your prediction in your science journaland support your thinking with evidence.


Peony Bud

Every peony bud is surroundedby scales that make nectar.

These purple scalessurrounding the bud

make the nectar!

Ants, Ants, and More Ants

What are these ants doing?

Write your prediction in your science journaland support your thinking with evidence.


No ants are on this peony bud. What do you observe on this bud

that was not on all the other buds you’ve seen?

Please write your observations in your science journal.


What do you think happened to this peony budwhich was never visited by ants?

Please write your prediction in your sciencejournal and support your thinking with reasons.


As it turns out, this peony bud is SICK. It has a fungus (white spots)

and it will never blossom.

Do you think this bud got sickbecause the ants did not visit?

Write your ideas in your science journaland support them with reasons.


This peony plant did blossom!

Hurray!

What DO EntomologistsTHINK the RELATIONSHIP is

between ANTS and

PEONY PLANTS?

Are ants responsible for the opening of peony blossoms?

Most people believe, the answer is “NO”. BUT, there is a special relationship between the two.

So just what are these ANTS doing to the peony bud?

According to Donald Lewis, Entomologist (a scientist who studies insects),

“Peony buds have very small structures that produce nectar

along the outside edges of the scales that cover developing buds.”

The ants eat this mixture of sugar, water and nutrients in a feeding craze.

In exchange for the free nectar, the ants drive off pests that might eat the buds.

If the ants did not drive offpests that could eat the buds,

what might happen to the peony flower?

So, the relationship between ants and peony buds is positive for both the

plant and insect.

The ants eat the nectar and the peonies have some protection from other bugs.

Now Think Like a Scientist!

Describe an experiment which could give information

about why the ants crawl allover the peony bud.

Like a Scientist!

Begin with the behavior youobserved in the antsand ask a question?

Write your question about ants and peony buds

in your science journal.


Like a Scientist!

Example Question:

Why do ants crawl all over the peony buds?

How does this example questioncompare to your question?

Remember that some questions are easierto answer than others!!!


Like a Scientist!

Predict an answer to your question and write it in your science journal.


Sample Prediction to the Question:Why do ants crawl all over the peony buds?

Ants are eating the nectar made by thescales surrounding the developing peony bud.


Support your prediction in writing.Describe the evidence that led you to these ideas

and write these reasons in your science journal.


Sample writing which would supportyour prediction that ants are eating the nectar

produced by the scales covering the peony bud.

“In an article, I read about a scientist who studies insects.He said that ants eat a mixture of sugar, water and nutrients

made by the scales, surrounding the peony bud.

This is why I think that the ants are eating while they are

crawling over the peony buds.”

Click to continue

The next step is to describe the experiment you will complete.

This experiment will give you information that will answer your question.

And, the results of your experiment will eithersupport or reject your prediction.


Sample Experiment

1. Gather samples of nectar from the scalesof the peony bud.

2. Put this nectar is a container.

3. Gather one-hundred ants and place them inan ant house.


4. Provide these ants with four sources of food placed at each corner of the ant house.

5. Prepare the ant food.Food Source #1 = water only, Food source #2 = saltwater,

Food source #3 = the nectar from the peony bud,

Food source #4 = nectar for a plant that does nothave ants crawling over it


6. Open the food sources in the ant house,observe where the ants go and record your observations.

ANT HOUSEANT HOUSE

WATERPeonyNectar

Other PlantNectar

SaltWater

Click your mouse or press the

space bar to continue the slide show!

The next step in your experiment is to write outwhat you found by doing this experiment.

What did you see and what does it mean?

ANT HOUSEANT HOUSE

WATERPeonyNectar

Other PlantNectar

SaltWater


Results and Conclusions might look like this...Other Nectar Water Saltwater Peony Nectar

2 ants 10 ants 0 ants 88 ants


“In my experiment, I found that 88 of the 100 antscrawled to the peony nectar. None of these antscrawled to the saltwater. Two ants went over tothe nectar from another plant. Ten of the 100 antsdid crawl to the water.

These observations support my prediction thatants crawl on peonies buds to eat peony nectar. Only a few ants crawled over to the other plant’s nectar and only ten of the ants crawled to the water.

I still wonder if the ants are helping the peony bud.What will be my next investigation?”


The story of science continues with eachnew question and observation you make!

You are a scientist!


click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Documents

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