Drawing Circles Around Ants Science Project

Summary

Biology, chemistry, chemical signals, entomology, repellents

Teisha Rowland, PhD, Science Buddies

Introduction

Have you ever had ants ruin your picnic? Commercial emmet repellents can keep them away, simply who wants to spray poison near their nutrient? In this activeness, you can investigate the effectiveness of some less toxic solutions that you may have around your home. Armed with your discoveries, you may be able to keep your next picnic from turning into an emmet buffet!

This action is not recommended for use as a scientific discipline fair project. Good scientific discipline fair projects have a stronger focus on controlling variables, taking authentic measurements, and analyzing data. To find a scientific discipline fair project that is just correct for you, browse our library of over 1,200 Science Fair Project Ideas or use the Topic Option Sorcerer to get a personalized project recommendation.

Background

All animals sense chemic signals in their environments. Some animals use these signals to communicate. I animal famous for chemical advice is the ant. When you see a line of ants, it is because they are following an invisible chemical trail. This type of chemical signal is positive—it is called an attractant considering it is meant to attract others. Merely signals tin also be negative, warning other ants to stay away. This type of signal is called a repellent.

Sometimes repellents can come up in handy. We don't like ants to get into our homes, and so if we employ a negative chemic point around their foundations, the signal will tell the ants to go on out. Chemical companies will sometimes effort to copy a negative signal to sell as an insect repellent. But sometimes these chemicals tin can have side effects or be poisonous to pets or small children. Luckily, in that location may be less toxic remedies around your habitation.

Materials

• Q-tips
• Small cups or bottle caps
• Large, vinyl tablecloth
• A location outside where there are plenty of ants crawling effectually
• Water
• Sugar
• Blistering soda
• Vinegar
• Detergent (dish soap, laundry detergent, hand soap, etcetera)
• Tabasco sauce
• Lemon juice (or other citrus juice)
• Commercial ant repellent, if you lot desire to compare its effectiveness
• Whatever other solution you would like to examination!
• Watch or stopwatch (optional)

Preparation

1. In a small-scale cup or bottle cap, make a saturated solution by dissolving some baking soda into h2o. Continue adding and mixing baking soda until no more will dissolve.

2. In a minor cup or bottle cap, brand carbohydrate water past dissolving sugar in water until no more sugar volition dissolve.

3. If y'all apply a commercial ant repellent, you lot should have adult permission and supervision.

4. Separately make up additional pocket-sized cups or bottle caps of the solutions yous will exist testing: Water, vinegar, detergent, Tabasco sauce, lemon juice and, if yous cull to test it, commercial ant repellent.

Instructions

1. Lay out your vinyl tablecloth on the footing in an expanse of heavy pismire activeness. Expect awhile for the ants to walk on the tablecloth. (Be careful when working with ants—some tin can sting and bite!)

2. Tip: If non many ants are walking on the tablecloth, you could attempt putting a small piece of fruit nearly them, such as an apple slice, wait until the ants cover it, and then carefully milkshake them off onto the tablecloth. If it is very hot outside, y'all may need to wait until later in the solar day when it cools down for ants to come out of their holes.

3. Next to the tablecloth take ready the solutions you lot volition examination: saturated blistering soda solution, sugar h2o, water, vinegar, detergent, Tabasco sauce, lemon juice and, if you want, chemical ant repellent.

4. Test a solution on an pismire past dipping a Q-tip into the solution and drawing a circle around the insect, near 2.v centimeters in diameter. Did the ant stay inside the circumvolve or leave it? Was there anything else you observed about the ant's beliefs?

5. In this mode, test solutions on the ants until yous have tested at least five ants with each substance.

6. Which solutions usually kept ants within the circle? From which did the ants readily walk out? Potential repellents will exist solutions that clearly trap the ants inside a circle.

7. Were at that place circles in which the ants spent time standing, neither apace leaving nor appearing trapped?

Extra: Once you discover some potential repellents, you can figure out which ones work best. Try this activity over again, but now fourth dimension how long the ant remains trapped in the circumvolve. Which repellents repel the ants for the longest amount of time?

Extra: You lot tin can as well time how long the pismire stays trapped in the circle to experiment with different concentrations of repellents. How diluted can your solutions be and still act as effective pismire repellents?

Extra: Endeavor a similar activeness to this i simply only exam dry or powdered substances. You won't demand a tablecloth for this; rather for a hard, dry substance like chalk you tin draw the circle on a sidewalk. For a powder, like baking soda, carbohydrate or common salt, just sprinkle it in a circumvolve around the ant. Tin you lot detect some powdered or solid substances that work as pismire repellents?

Observations and Results

Did some solutions proceed the ants trapped in the circle, whereas the ants speedily walked over circles made of other solutions? Did the baking soda, detergent and Tabasco sauce clearly repel the ants, although the water did not?

Ants rely on chemic signals to navigate toward nutrient, their nest and other places, and we can use negative signals, or repellents, to discourage ants from going somewhere. Baking soda; vinegar; lemon juice; some detergents (and cleaning products); Tabasco sauce (and other spicy substances, such as ruddy chili pepper, black pepper and cayenne pepper) usually repel ants to varying degrees, and y'all may have seen them trapped in these circles. Many other mutual household solutions can also repel ants, including cinnamon, mint, salt, cloves, garlic, onions and bay leaves. Many ants are attracted to sugar, and then you may accept seen ants stop and spend some time on the circumvolve fabricated up of the sugar water—they may have been enjoying a snack! The ants should take chop-chop crossed the circles made of water, but if thick lines were made using the water or other solutions—or if the ants were thirsty—this could cause them to hesitate earlier exiting the circles.

Ask an Skilful

Curious about the science? Postal service your question for our scientists.

Cleanup

1. When you are done with this activity, let the ants render to where you found them. Wash off the vinyl tablecloth and be careful and thorough if you chose to use commercial pismire repellent.

Additional Resource

Integrated Pest Direction Transmission from the National Park Service
Nontoxic Ant Control from The Best Command 2: Encyclopedia of Integrated Pest Management
Drawing Circles around Ants from Science Buddies

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Source: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities/drawing-circles-around-ants

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