1. Life in side an Acorn
Acorn Weevil Lab

2. Life inside an acorn What do you know about oak trees& acorns?
There is a whole world that we overlook everyday & we will discover this wonderful world with this lab
BE EXCITED!!!!!! WOOT WOOT!

3. Acorn Insects
Over 100 species of insects feed on the nuts of North American trees
including acorns
produced by oaks.
We will be focusing on the interactions of:
acorn weevils
acorn moth
filbertworm
Wasps
These insects destroy so many nuts that it is difficult for trees to reproduce.

4. Acorn Weevil 1/2 inch long have snouts with small, saw like teeth.
two types of acorn weevil
the long-snouted acorn weevils
snout equal to or greater than length of body.
Eat acorns still attached to tree
short-snouted ones
snout is ½ or less than its body
Eat Acorns fallen on ground

5. Life cycle of Weevil
Legless, grub-like acorn weevil larvae hatch from eggs a few days after they are laid.
Go through five growth stages, or instars.
a few weeks, larvae chew their way out of the acorn, burrow into the soil to pupate
eventually emerge as adults in 1 or more years.

6. Life Cycle of Acorn Moth
The grayish female acorn moths lay eggs in damaged acorns
sometimes from the holes of acorn weevil larvae.
It's easy to distinguish the acorn moth larva from acorn weevil larvae.
The acorn moth larva has three pairs of legs near the head & is generally longer than the legless, fat larvae of acorn weevils.
Acorn moth Larva feed on acorns & on the fungi that often grow in damaged acorns.
They usually pupate inside the acorns

7. Caterpillars & Moth

8. Life Cycle of Filbertworm
The filbertwormis a moth whose larvae closely resemble the acorn moth, is also often found in acoms.
Acorn moth attacks acorns on the ground
the filbertworm attacks developing acorns on the trees.

9. Gall Wasps
Adult females lay their eggs in female flowers of oaks in the spring
causes galls-abnormal growths of plant tissue,
Gall wasp larvae live in and feed on the plant tissue inside the galls.
External galls drop off the acorns in the autumn.

10. Hypothesis I think, ____ out of 3 acorns will be infested
because________________________________
Remember there is no right or wrong in science, just educated guesses based on knowledge

11. Materials
3 Acorns
String
Ruler
Pliers

12. LAB Procedure Find 3 Acorns outside Draw a picture of your 3 acorns
Measure & record the 3 acorns’
Diameter-width around acorn (string & ruler)
Weight-in grams
Crack open acorn and search the “meat”
Record if it is “Infested” or “Not Infested”
If infested, record if weevil larva or caterpillars larva

13. Data (#s) Acorn Drawing Diameter in mm Weight in grams
Infected/Not Infected

14. Calcuations Class Tally Infected/Not infected Figure %
# Infested/Total acorns

15. Conclusion Was your hypothesis supported of rejected?
What are some sources of possible error?
If we were to repeat the experiment, name 1 thing you would do differently
What is something new you learned?

16. New Questions
Come up with 3 new questions on the Acorn Weevil Lab