Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I'm doing my Science Fair project about ant pheromone trails. I am planning to keep my test subjects in an ant farm, and I'm trying to find a way to get them safely out of the ant farm for each trial. I read that putting ants in the refrigerator puts them in a dormant stage, but I'm worried using this method 25 times will kill off all my ants. Please respond if you know a better method! I haven't actually bought the farm yet, so even suggesting an ant farm will helpful. Thank you!

Hi Kayls,

This is going to be a great project and it's good that you are thinking ahead and doing your background research. Cooling ants will slow them down, but I agree that it may not be a good idea to warm/cool the same ants 25 times. I am very curious about your experimental design. Is there any way you could think of doing the project that would reduce the number of warming/cooling cycles? How many ants in each group are you working with? Have you gone through the sciencebuddies website guide for planning a project?

http://www.sciencebuddies.com/science-f ... ndex.shtml


Here is a website that specializes in information on ants.

http://antfarm.yuku.com/


I did not see an answer to your question in looking through the FAQ’s, but I recommend that you look for your answer in this website.

Let us know if you have any more questions about designing your project.


Donna Hardy

Hi Kayls,
I think your project sounds great! You may want to take a look at a page on science buddies that is specific to conducting an experiment on ant pheromone trails. The page is located at https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p016.shtml. Good luck!

Thank you! I found an extremely helpful link on antfarm.yuku.com, which told me how to build a formicarium without a lid. I also found great tips on how to preform it using the Science Buddies link. I'm looking forward to starting my science experiment! -Kayls