Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi,
My project is about the attractants and repellents of ants. I finished my project but am having trouble understanding it. My ants went towards the sweeter things, water, and lettuce, but they moved away from more acidic things like vinegar. I was expecting this but I don't understand why this happened.

I don't know the answer to your question, but i would guess that it is because the ants can digest sweet things but not vinegar. Some ants like oil. Did you try that? I'm surprised that they went to lettuce! Did they actually eat it?

Keep in mind that there are more than 1000 different species of ants in North America and they vary in the kinds of food they like: http://www.myrmecos.net/north-american-ants/

It would be useful if you could try to identify the type of ants you used. Did you take photos of them? Try to get a clear close-up, enlarge it and make a good print for your report. You can try identifying it using some online sites: http://www.myrmecos.net/north-american-ants/
http://www.antweb.org/antblog/

Good luck!

Sybee