Science projects involving insects help students learn about the natural world and are relatively easy to conduct because of the abundance of insects in the environment. Recording the stages of these projects with a camera will allow you to display the evidence of your efforts when the project is complete.
Plants and Ants
Accomplish this project with one student or a group of students. Ants, especially fire ants, can cause a lot of damage to crops, so this project allows you to determine what plants, if any, naturally repel ants. You will need one large container and three types of plants for your project. Possible plants include: mint, chamomile, and one plant common to your area. If you cannot locate an entire plant, the leaves of these plants should suffice. Cover the bottom of a container with a thin layer of soil and place the plants or leaves in different parts of the container. Gather some ants and put some on each of the plants or leaves you've collected. Observe the ants over a period of about 24 hours and make notes about their actions, including which of the plants, if any, they migrate toward. Be sure to formulate a hypothesis before you begin and compare the results of your experiment with the hypothesis.
Insects at Night
Conduct this experiment in your backyard in one night with a few supplies. You will need five flashlights, good batteries for each flashlight, four colored pieces of hard plastic that will fit over the lighted top of the flashlights, and a notepad to take notes. The colored plastic pieces must be four different colors for this experiment. Turn the flashlights on and stand them up so that the light shines into the sky. Place the plastic pieces over four of the flashlight beams so that you have four colored beams and one plain light beam. Stand back and wait for the insects to accumulate by the lights. The purpose of the project is to determine which color of light the insects will be most attracted to. Again, you should make a hypothesis about this project before you begin so that you can compare it to the actual results.
Fireflies
If you live in an area where fireflies are abundant, then this project will be simple for you to conduct. The purpose of the project is to determine whether temperature has any effect on how often fireflies will flash their lights. You will need fireflies, three glass jars with lids, and three locations in your home where you can create a hot climate, a cold climate, and a moderate climate. Poke small holes in the jar lids so that the fireflies have air and then put a firefly in each of the jars. Place the jars in the climates you've prepared. Observe the fireflies over a period of a few hours and note how many times they flash. Then take each of the jars back outside into their natural climates and see whether the fireflies light up more or less frequently than in the climate you created for them. Be sure to formulate a hypothesis before you begin so that you can compare it to your results.
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