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

Now let’s Become an ENTOMOLOGIST… 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. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Do ants help open the peony blossoms? Write your prediction in your science journal and support your thinking with evidence. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Peony Bud

Every peony bud is surrounded by scales that make nectar.

These purple scales surrounding the bud make the nectar!

Ants, Ants, and More Ants

What are these ants doing? Write your prediction in your science journal and support your thinking with evidence. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

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

What do you think happened to this peony bud which was never visited by ants? Please write your prediction in your science journal and support your thinking with reasons. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

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 sick because the ants did not visit? Write your ideas in your science journal and support them with reasons. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

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 off pests 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 all over the peony bud.

Like a Scientist! Begin with the behavior you observed in the ants and ask a question? Write your question about ants and peony buds in your science journal. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Like a Scientist! Example Question: Why do ants crawl all over the peony buds? How does this example question compare to your question? Remember that some questions are easier to answer than others!!! Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Like a Scientist! Predict an answer to your question and write it in your science journal. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Sample Prediction to the Question: Why do ants crawl all over the peony buds? Ants are eating the nectar made by the scales surrounding the developing peony bud. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Support your prediction in writing. Describe the evidence that led you to these ideas and write these reasons in your science journal. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Sample writing which would support your 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 either support or reject your prediction. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Sample Experiment 1. Gather samples of nectar from the scales of the peony bud. 2. Put this nectar is a container. 3. Gather one-hundred ants and place them in an ant house. Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

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 not have ants crawling over it Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

6. Open the food sources in the ant house, observe where the ants go and record your observations. ANT HOUSE WATER Peony Nectar Other Plant Nectar Salt Water Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show !

The next step in your experiment is to write out what you found by doing this experiment. What did you see and what does it mean? ANT HOUSE WATER Peony Nectar Other Plant Nectar Salt Water Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

Results and Conclusions might look like this... Other NectarWaterSaltwaterPeony Nectar 2 ants10 ants0 ants88 ants Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

“In my experiment, I found that 88 of the 100 ants crawled to the peony nectar. None of these ants crawled to the saltwater. Two ants went over to the nectar from another plant. Ten of the 100 ants did crawl to the water. These observations support my prediction that ants 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?” Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!

The story of science continues with each new question and observation you make! You are a scientist! Click your mouse or press the space bar to continue the slide show!