Using Ant and Butterfly Pollination to Involve Students in Scientific Exploration

 

Mary Puterbaugh Mulcahy and Mary Blaine Prince

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2004, Volume 25

Abstract

Students explore pollination using two exercises: an ant- and a butterfly-activity. In the ant-exercise, students generate hypotheses for why reports of ant pollination are rare, test one or more hypothesis, and present their findings. In addition to this open-ended inquiry investigation, instructions are also provided for a structured activity in which students germinate pollen and test whether ant-secretions inhibit pollen growth as has been proposed in the scientific literature. In the butterfly-exercise, students test whether butterflies can learn to associate certain color cues with a sugar reward.

Keywords:  ants, pollination, mutualism, vascular plants, butterfly, pollen

University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2003)