Activity: Be An Ant Scientist!
- Overview
- Students will trap ants using attractants (foods) to see what species are found in their areas. The students will learn about dichotomous keys and how they are used to identify insects.
- This exercise will work best in Texas, but you should be able to get some idea of which ants you have in other areas.
- Objective
- Students will become familiar with many types of ants in the environment and determine whether they are harmful or beneficial. They will learn to use a dichotomous key to identify a species of ant.
- Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) (other states may have similar systems)
- Science
- 3rd grade: 3.1.a, 3.1.b, 3.2.b, 3.2.c, 3.2.d, 3.4.a
- 4th grade: 4.1.a, 4.1.b, 4.2.b, 4.2.c, 4.2.d, 4.4.a
- 5th grade: 5.1.a, 5.1.b, 5.2.b, 5.2.c, 5.2.d, 5.4.a
- Materials
- Small (l-ounce) condiment cups with snap-on lids
- Canned tuna, potato chips, dry cat food, Vienna sausage, etc., to use as bait
- Hand lens or other magnifying instrument
- Permanent markers
- Fire Ant Project Fact Sheet FAPFS010, Texas Pest Ant Identification Illustrated Key,one copy for each student.
- Soap
- Sting medications
- Paper, one sheet for each student
- Pens or pencils, one for each student
- Be an Ant Detective Game Picture Cards
- Safety tip
- Discuss fire ant safety with the students before beginning the outdoor activities. Fire ants are likely to be attracted to the bait cups, so be careful when inspecting cups to minimize the possibility of stings.
- First aid for fire ant stings: Commercially available sting medications will help. Washing stings with soap and water will clean the area and help reduce the chances of secondary infection. Some individuals may experience allergic reactions to the bites. Refer to the Fire Ant Project fact sheet, Medical Problems Associated with the Imported Fire Ant (FAPFS023), for more information on medical issues.
- Tell them that they should not scratch the sting or rupture the pustule that might occur at the sting site because secondary infections may occur. The pustule is a normal result of a fire ant sting and is sterile unless ruptured.
- Activity
- Have the students familiarize themselves with the Texas Pest Ant Identification — An Illustrated Key fact sheet (FAPFS010).
- Each student should write his or her name on a condiment cup.
- Then each should select an ant attractant (food) and place a small amount of it on the inside of the cup lid.
- Take the class outdoors and have each student place the lids, food side up, anywhere they wish.
- Leave the lids undisturbed for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, help the students snap their cups down onto the lids and return to the classroom with the captured ants.
- Kill the ants collected by placing the cups in the freezer overnight or by placing them in alcohol.
- The students should use hand-held magnifying glasses or other magnifying instruments to take a closer look at their ant.
- Using the Pest Ant Key and Ant Detective Game Picture Cards, try to identify the ants as best as possible.
- Note: Explain to the students that all ants are extremely prolific and that killing a few will not harm the overall population of ants. Also explain that ants cannot feel pain and freezing them is the best way to observe them for study.
- Wrap-up
- Ask: Were the ants trapped among the list of competitors of fire ants? How many different types of ants were collected?
- Compare the number of trapped ant species to what was learned about fire ants. Does the presence of these species affect the number of fire ants found? Were there many fire ants and only a few others (competitors), or many competitors and few fire ants?
- Write a short story about a day in the life of an ant.
Note to teachers: You may want to refer to the KIDzANTS Teacher Manual, which is from the original release of KIDzANTS made by Texas AgriLife Extension.
PLEASE PROVIDE FEEDBACK
- The fire ant eXtension youth team would love some feedback from your experience. Please contact Paul Nester (p-nester@tamu.edu) with questions, comments, testimonials, and particularly images of your students' accomplishments and the students engaging in this activity. If you send images that include students, please be sure that parental approval has been given to use the image. Most schools routinely have parents sign a photographic release form. If you are unsure whether a permission form has been completed, you can use this form and send it along with the image: Photography Release Form
