Explore Outdoors ~ bugs on blooms

 I spent a lot of time last month taking photos of bugs - a great many of them on flowers. Here are three that I particularly enjoyed.

 

Now it's your turn -

look for bugs on flowers

where you live 

 

 

Explore Outdoors ~ Ants on Plants!

 

 I headed out for a walk the other day, thinking I might find bees on some of the wildflowers. I stopped and looked, closer and closer....

 

 

 

... and found an ant meandering up the raceme of almost-open blossoms. Looks like it barely escaped the fangs of a camouflaged flower spider! In all honesty, I didn't even see the spider until I looked at the photo later, on my computer.

 

So why did the ant climb up the cherry tree? Maybe it has a sweet tooth - er, mandible. Leaves of some species of wild cherry have extrafloral nectaries. Perhaps this ant is part of a pest-patrol? 

 

Peonies provide nectar for ants that keep pesky plant-chewing bugs off their flowers and stems - you can find out more here.

 

Look closely this week. 

Do you have ants on your plants? 

 

 

Books celebrating Ants and Doves!

Upon returning from my end-of-summer break, I discovered a bunch of summer releases I’d neglected to share. Taking care of that forthwith! Today’s books celebrate animals, behavior, and human interactions.

Rosemary Mosco writes and illustrates a variety of things, from her Bird and Moon comics to chapter books. Her most recent picture book was released in July. It’s about ants – and I love it! 

There Are No Ants in This Book 
by Rosemary Mosco; illustrated by Anna Pirolli 
40 pages; ages 4-8
Tundra Books, 2024  

  
What a nice-looking book this is! It’s the perfect place for… a picnic.

The reason? There are no ants… it even says so on the cover. Except, as we turn the page we discover that there’s one ant. That might be okay, but then two more ants show up, then more until there are Ten Ants! And that turns out to be fine with the character, because she’s discovering just how cool ants are.

What I like love about this book: I love that each ant is a different species, from a tiny acorn ant to a huge dinosaur ant. The back matter provides a brief bio for each of the ten ants, with their scientific name, where they live, and a cool fact. I’d write more, but I want to go check the acorns in the yard for … ants!

Over the past decade or so I’ve enjoyed reading books written by Sara Levine. Whether it’s animal bones or flower talk or math, she combines fun with STEM. Her newest picture book is all about… well, the title says it all.

A Terrible Place for a Nest 
by Sara Levine; illustrated by Erika Meza 
40 pages; ages 4-8
Roaring Brook Press, 2024 

  
When Juno and his mom lost their home, they had to move to a new place.

Juno doesn’t like his new room. The local grocer doesn’t carry his favorite cereal. Making new friends is hard, and mourning doves are building a nest on the fence right next to the gate. “This is a terrible place!” Juno yells. 

What I like about this book: I like how Juno helps the doves when their nest falls to the ground, and how he decides to take them under his wing (so to speak). As the dove family grows, we see Juno’s circle of friends grow, and the ways they come up with to protect the nest, despite its suboptimal location. I also like how Sara’s story focused on a bird that is distributed across the continental US, Mexico, and southern Canada. So any kid reading or listening to this story can see mourning doves – or their rock dove “pigeon” cousins – around their neighborhood.

Beyond the Books:

Make a picnic for the ants in your yard or at a park. What sort of food will you provide? Remember, some ants like sweets, others like meat, and some will eat anything. Make sure you put your ant picnic on a sheet of paper so the ants can reach their favorite food.

Once you’ve made your ant picnic, observe the ants that visit. What ants arrive first? Do they stick around and eat or do they scurry away, only to return with a friend or two or ten? How many kinds of ants did you see?

Maybe you’d rather make a picnic for mourning doves. They like to eat sunflower seeds, millet, oats, unshelled peanuts, and cracked corn. You can learn more about attracting mourning doves at exploring birds.

This summer a robin tried building a nest over a door. It was a terrible place for a nest! Are there any birds nesting in “terrible places” around your house? What kind of bird, and where did they try to build their nest?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ 5-minute field trip

 A few years ago lightning hit an oak tree behind my garden. Neighbors helped fell the tree and cut up most of it for firewood... but there remained a trunk too thick for any of our chainsaws. So we left it for part of my outdoor curiosity lab. Last month I wandered over to see what was going on. Turns out a lot is happening. Fungi, moss, and lichens have made their appearance over the years, and now small tree seedlings are gaining a foothold. Insects galore hang out on, in, and under the log. Here are a few photos from my Five Minute Field Trip.

 

Take a 5-Minute Field Trip in your neighborhood~

what do you discover?

The Ants are Marching...

 Today’s books are all about ants – because I have an abiding fondness for these truly marvelous tiny critters. I once spent an entire month trading barley seeds with harvester ants.

Theme: ants, animal behavior, ecology

City of Leafcutter Ants: A Sustainable Society of Millions 

by Amy Hevron 

40 pages; ages 4-8

Neal Porter Books/ Holiday House, 2024   

Below the towering trees of the dense rainforest canopy of Central America, a population the size of New York City bustles.

It is a city of leafcutter ants, and each one of them has a job to help their city thrive. There are ants that manage the city’s trash, ants that care for the youngsters, and ants that build and tunnel and dig. There are ants that gather food from the forest, ants that grow food in the city, and ants that make medicines to keep everyone healthy.

What I like about this book: I like the way this book takes readers right inside the ant city. I like the bright, bold illustrations. And I like that there’s back matter in which Amy Hevron tells more about Leafcutter ants and the important jobs ants hold in their city. 

The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants 

by Philip Bunting 

32 pages; ages 4-8

‎Crown Books for Young Readers, 2024

Hey! This is an ant. And this is an ant. And this is an ant…

In fact, there is an entire page introducing ants, about ten quadrillion of them (though not all of them individually). In this book you’ll discover things ants love and things they don’t love (such as big feet coming down on top of them!). There’s an introduction to a generic ant colony and the different jobs ants do, how they talk to each other, and a lot about what ants (and people) can do to make the world a better place.

What I like about this book: I like the stylized illustrations of ants and the humor that results from the combined text and illustrations. And the scene where ants discover sprinkles – who doesn’t love sprinkles!

Beyond the Books:

Back in April I interviewed Amy for the Fourth Annual Arthropod Roundtable over on the GROG blog. You can read it here.

Follow some ants. Where are they going? Where are they coming from? Are they carrying anything, such as dead insects or seeds? These are some of the questions that inspired Amy Hevron to write City of Leafcutter Ants!

Create art inspired by ant-watching. Perhaps your questions will inspire a poem or story. Or you might paint a picture of the ants in your neighborhood. Or perhaps you’ll map out where the ants live and work…

You can find more ant activities in one of my earlier blog posts here.

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. City of Leafcutter Ants provided by the publisher; Wonderful Wisdom of Ants provided by Blue Slip Media.

Explore Outdoors ~ Got Ants in your Plants?

I do! And I'm not too worried. That's because these ants and plants have a working relationship. A partnership of sorts. 

 

 

The peony has extrafloral nectaries on the sepals (the leaf-like things that protect the flower). That nectar attracts ants that, in exchange for the food, protect the plant from flower-chewing bugs. There are other nectaries inside the flower that produce food for pollinators - once the flower opens.

This week, take a closer look at flowers and flower buds.

• Do you see ants on the plants?
• Do the ants look like they are collecting nectar?
• Are the flowers open or still closed buds?
• Are the ants eating other insects on the plants?
• Do the ants leave pheromone signals letting other ants know how to get to these sweet treats?
• Do you see other pest-eating beneficials on plants, such as ladybug larvae or lacewings?

You can find out more about ants and peonies at Illinois Extension and the master gardeners at Penn State. And by observing peony flowers wherever you find them!

The Natural Genius of Ants

The Natural Genius of Ants 

by Betty Culley 

240 pages; ages 8-12

Crown Books for Young Readers, 2022

The minute I saw the title of this book, I knew I had to read it. Because: ants. I mean, you read my blog – you know my passion for arthropods!

And while this book is full of ant wisdom, nay, ant-genius, it is not really about ants. It’s a story about life and love and parents and hope and worry and …. Okay, how about if I just share a few sentences of jacket copy:

Harvard is used to his father coming home from the hospital and telling him about the babies he helped. But since he made the mistake at work, Dad has been quieter than usual. And now he’s taking Harvard and his little brother, Roger, to Kettle Hole, Maine, for the summer. 

Here’s the thing: Harvard is very observant; he notices that Dad brings his doctor bag with him. And Harvard wants to make his Dad be happy again. So when they decide to build an ant farm as a summer project, and the mail-order ants are dead on arrival, Harvard decides to substitute some local ants. Very local… as in: carpenter ants that scurry around the house. When Dad is ready to fill the ant farm frame with sand, Harvard thinks quick and suggests creating a “Maine habitat,” complete with dirt from outside and some chunks of wood.

Ryan Hodnett / Wikimedia  

What I LOVE about this book: 

• Betty Culley’s descriptions of place are so real that you feel like you’re there – whether it’s in the cozy house or the Maine woods. I mean, you can smell the wood rot and leaf mold!
• The characters are so three-dimensional I kept expecting them to poke their heads out of the book and say “Can you believe there are 15,000 kinds of ant?”
• The ant facts and tidbits of info sprinkled throughout the pages. And the wonderful observations of ant behavior. 
• The chapter titles, from Ant Poetry to Camponotus pennsylvanicus (eastern black carpenter ant). I actually have a few of these that run around my kitchen every now and then, and have whipped more than a few into frittatas.
• The ant puns and ant jokes. They are a good ant-idote to a bad day.
• But here’s what I liked the best: while writing The Natural Genius of Ants, Betty kept an ant farm and cared for a carpenter ant queen. You can check it out here on her website. Immersion journalism at its best!

I give this book 5 pair of antenna! (waaaay better than stars) Run, do not walk, to your nearest book seller and get yourself a copy. Then grab a large mason jar and a smaller jar that can fit inside, and a few more things and make an ant farm. Here’s how. 

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so scurry over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by Media Masters Publicity.

Ants and Spiders! Oh my!

theme: bugs, nature, nonfiction

Spiders and ants are becoming more active around – and sometimes in – my house. So this is a perfect time to share these books that were released last fall.

Just Like Us! Ants 
by Bridget Heos ; illustrated by David Clark
32  pages; ages 4-7
HMH Books for Young Readers, 2017 

Did you know that ants have been farming for longer than humans? And that in addition to raising crops, they herd (and milk) animals? Ants also build roads, sew, and construct rafts to survive floods. 

What I like about this book: On each spread, Bridget Heos introduces a different way in which ants are like us. She uses plain language, tinged with humor, to show how ants live in communities, delegate chores, and deal with traffic. An ant’s first job is often that of a babysitter – just like us! Babysitter ants feed their young charges, and give them baths. They’d probably raid the fridge if ant nests had refrigerators. Another thing ants do is wage war on other colonies. Meanwhile, the queen and loyal helpers carry the larvae and flee to safety.

I also like the artwork. David Clark’s cartoonish illustrations add a touch of humor while showing the details we need to know. Occasionally he integrates photos of real ants doing real work.

Spiders! Strange and Wonderful 
by Laurence Pringle; illustrated by Meryl Henderson
32 pages; ages 7 - 10
Boyds Mills Press, 2017

…there may be several spiders close to you. One may lurk under a chair. Another hides in the corner of a window. Oh, and there may be one in a little silk web, up by the ceiling. 

Spiders live everywhere, except Antarctica, and they are so focused on living their own lives that they really don’t want to have anything to do with us. They have lived on this earth for a long time – at least 380 million years. Most of them survive by eating insects. That’s good for gardeners who don’t like pests nibbling spinach leaves; not so good for the pests. 

What I like about this book: Laurence Pringle explains how spiders are related to other arachnids, shows their anatomy, and talks about their secret weapon. He introduces different kinds of webs, and spiders that don’t have webs. The illustrations are a wonderful way to learn how to identify certain spiders. I love the up-close portraits of spider faces and eye patterns – it’s hard to see those on live spiders. Back matter includes a glossary, further reading and, of course, websites! 

Beyond the Books 
What do ants in your area like to eat? Some ants prefer grease, some sugary treats, and others would rather nosh on seeds. If you find an ant community in your yard or local park, you can do a food preference test. Turn a paper plate upside down and put it on the ground about a yard from the ant’s home. Put samples of various foods around the edge of the plate: sesame seeds, barley, dabs of honey, butter, and peanut butter. Which food attracts the ants? 

Check out this video of ants, by David Attenborough (Life in theUndergrowth, BBC) 

Can you jump as far as a jumping spider? They can jump anywhere from 10 to 50 times their body length. Measure your height (body length). Then do some jumps, and measure how far you went. How far would a jumping spider jump if it were as big as you? 

Scientists have taught a spider to jump on demand. They hope that what they learn from their spider, Kim, can help them improve the form and function of jumping micro-robots. You can watch the video here.

 

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup - and we're also joining others over at Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copy from publishers.

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Ants

Lately we've been finding ants in the house. Last summer it was odorous house ants - the ones that, when squished, smell vaguely like coconut. This time it's black carpenter ants. They're larger and tougher than the odorous ants and, as far as I can tell, have no smell when stepped on.

The carpenter ants live somewhere outside, probably in one of the nearby dead trees. They wander about in search of food. I've found them on the counter beneath the cake, but not eating cake; they prefer fruits and insects.

This week head out and explore ants in your neighborhood.

• what color are they?
• how big are they?
• follow them - where are they going?
• what are they carrying?
• do they gather at a food source and eat, or do they carry food back to their home?
• and if they carry it back, do they share the load with a friend or carry it themselves?
• what do your ants like to eat? You can find out by leaving bits of different kinds of food on a piece of paper and watching what they take.
• do your ants follow trails? If so, what happens if you pick them up and put them down somewhere off the trail?

Archimedes Notebook is taking a break from book reviews for a few weeks so I can spend this summer being a curious naturalist. I'll be heading out with my notebook and camera - so you might find some new Wednesday Explorers Club adventures posted. But for the most part I plan to indulge in non-digital exploration of my world. I invite you to turn off your computer for a few hours each week so you can explore the world around you.

See the World from an Ant's Perspective

The world looks different depending on how you look at it. Today, see how your back yard (or garden or park or...) looks from the perspective of a small critter - an ant, perhaps. Get down on your tummy and look at the world in front of you. If you want, grab a hand lens so you can get a closer view. Who knew that some mosses look like pine trees? And check out the tiny hairs on those leaves!

Then grab your journal and write - or draw - about what you see. 

Check out more cool science over at STEM Friday.