Grade levels K-5 or 6-12
2-3 hours
Biology / Ecology
Welcome to Ant Picnic
About this lesson
Are ants always ruining your picnic? Have you ever noticed that some ants are drawn to your potato chips more than your candy? Their snack choices will tell scientists something about the food that’s available to them in nature. Diet preferences and needs for humans are well documented, however, we are still learning about the diet preferences of ants in different parts of the world. What ants eat at different times of the year and in different places around the world tells us what might be missing in their environment and how climate change could impact ant populations.
Since 2011 the Rob Dunn Lab at North Carolina State University has been asking the question, “which ant species live where?” and citizen scientists have been answering by collecting ants with cookies in their backyards and schoolyards and mailing them to the lab. Now we are asking another question about those ants: What do ants prefer to eat around the world?
In this activity, students learn about the major food groups and explore the diet preferences of ants by participating in a real science project. Students will set out prescribed ant food baits, collect the baits, count the ants present at each bait, and share the data with a scientist. The data students collect will contribute to a large database with data from students from all around the world who are doing the same experiment. Scientists use these data to explore regional and global trends in ant food preferences so they can learn about more complex things like the environment and climate change.
There are several additional lesson modules that will work well in combination with this activity. For instance, the Ant Picnic Data Analysis Activity allows students to explore their ant picnic data further, ask (and answer) their own scientific questions and compare their data with ant picnic data collected around the world. In the Ant ID Activity students learn how to identify ants, including ants they have collected as part of their Ant Picnic. These and more activities can be found at discoverants.com/educational-resources
Curriculum alignment
North Carolina Essential Standards
1.L.2.2
Summarize the basic needs of a variety of different animals (including air, water, and food) for energy and growth.4.L.2.2
Explain the role of vitamins, minerals and exercise in maintaining a healthy body.6.L.2.3
Summarize how the abiotic factors (such as temperature, water, sunlight, and soil quality) of biomes (freshwater, marine, forest, grasslands, desert, Tundra) affect the ability of organisms to grow, survive and/or create their own food through photosynthesis.- 8.L.3.1
Explain how factors such as food, water, shelter and space affect populations in an ecosystem. - 8.L.5.1
Summarize how food provides the energy and the molecules required for building materials, growth and survival of all organisms (to include plants). Bio.2.1.4
Explain why ecosystems can be relatively stable over hundreds or thousands of years, even though populations may fluctuate (emphasizing availability of food, availability of shelter, number of predators and disease).Bio.4.1.1
Compare the structures and functions of the major biological molecules (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids) as related to the survival of living organisms.
Next Generation Science Standards (N.G.S.S.)
MS-LS-1-1
Conduct an investigation to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence that meet the goals of an investigation.MS-LS2-2
Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on predicting consistent patterns of interactions in different ecosystems in terms of the relationships among and between organisms and abiotic components of ecosystems. Examples of types of interactions could include competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial.]MS-LS1-7
Compare the structures and functions of the major biological molecules (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids) as related to the survival of living organisms.
Materials list
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Amino Acids: Pure L-Glutamine powder in solution (20% solution)
Sugar Water (20% solution)
Salt Water (1% solution)
Water (tap water is ok)
5 containers for mixing solutions (e.g., glass jars, flasks, etc.)
Measuring spoons or scale
Cotton balls (5 per group)
Pecan Sandies cookies (or a similar shortbread cookie)
“Experiment in Progress” signs (one for each experiment site)
White 3×5 index cards (6 per group)
Sandwich Ziploc bags (6 per group)
Pencils for data recording and labeling
Directions
Are you ready for Ant Picnic?
Take the quiz to find out!
Teachers, you can self-check if you have everything you need for Ant Picnic. You can then provide the student version of the quiz to ensure your students are ready – and use it as a grade!
Before you start (some helpful hints)
Before you start this activity, we suggest doing a general introduction to ants. For instance, you can do the Spirit Ant Activity before starting Ant Picnic and allow students to present their work to one another during the hour-long wait time when the food baits are set up outside. An even more general introduction to ants can be found at discoverants.com/whyants
The ant picnic experiment will work best on a warm day with no rain and no or minimal wind. If it is windy, you will need to secure the index cards (with a small rock or skewer) so they are not blown away.
The baits need to be left out for at least one hour—if you teach shorter classes, you can spend one class period setting the baits out and a later class period picking them up and counting the ants. The final data can be shared with the earlier class period the following day. Additionally, ants can be frozen and counted during a later class period.
If you are doing this experiment in a nut-free school, you can use a nut-free shortbread cookie as your cookie bait.
Please do not add any additional food types to your ant picnic. We will not be able to use your experimental data if you don’t follow the protocol meticulously. See extension activities for additional options for your students.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What if students get upset about the fact that ants might die as part of the Ant Picnic experiment?
My student has a nut allergy / I’m in a nut-free school – what can I do?
What is the “control” in the context of the Ant Picnic experiment?
If you are doing this experiment in a nut-free school, you can use a nut-free shortbread cookie as your cookie bait.
My students didn’t get any ants and feel like the experiment “didn’t work” – what can I tell them?
It’s windy – what can I do so the bait cards don’t get blown away?
A larger animal ate the baits (squirrel, cat, dog, racoon, etc.) – what can I do?
My class period is shorter than 60 min – can I leave the experiment out for less time?
My students want to test additional food types – what can I do?
…download the TEACHER GUIDE at the top of this page to get the answers!
Are you a Girl Scout?
Wanna know who the ants you collected with Ant Picnic are? – Me too!
Opportunities for Extension
Test more food types — If you would like to compare other food types in addition to the standard Ant Picnic baits, you can do that in a separate experiment. Please set this up on a different day or in an area at least 50 yards away from your regular Ant Picnic experiment site. If you would like to share the data from your own unique experiment, please enter it in the comments section when you submit your Ant Picnic data. We would love to hear what kinds of food you tried and how the ants liked it!
Compare green and paved sites — Set up your Ant Picnic experiment in both a green location (grassy or woody) and a paved location (sidewalk or parking lot) at the same time. Record each site as a separate experiment following the directions above. When you are done, you can compare the number of ants that arrived at these different site types as well as the food preferences of the ants. This adds an extra level to the experiment, which will challenge more advanced students.
Working with data / Data analysis — Ant Picnic data can be explored by students of all ages. Review the Ant Picnic Data Analysis Activity for various options that are adjusted for different grade levels. It includes a basic data exploration and discussion recommended for grade levels K-8. More advanced students can try their hand at analyzing data using an interactive online platform called CODAP through an extension activity.
Explore Phylogenetic Trees or Dichotomous Keys — In the Tree of Life Activity students attempt to classify a few selected organisms into groups and explore a real phylogenetic tree of life. In the Ant ID Activity students learn how to use dichotomous keys to identify ant species. Both activities can be found at discoverants.com/educational-resources.
Thank you for participating in Ant Picnic
Ant Picnic downloads at a glance
About the science
We want to learn more about what ants eat in different environments: in your backyard, on your school’s playground, at the park. How fast do they come to sugar, how fast do they come to a cookie you drop or how fast do they come to all these food sources around us?
Ants are looking to have a balanced diet just like us. Their food preferences at different times of the year and in different places around the world tell us what is missing in their environment.
The results you collect will be incorporated into the biggest study of global patterns in preferred food resources and activity within a single group of organisms.
The effect of ant resource preferences are felt every time you go on a picnic or let your sandwich lie around for too long. In some places the ants arrive quickly to eat some of your leftovers, in other places they don’t.
Ants prefer different kinds of foods in different places and we want to know what environmental variables govern this resource preference.
About the Scientist
Dr. Magdalena Sorger is an adjunct researcher at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. She’s an evolutionary ecologist interested in the diversity, distribution, and behavior of ants and other insects. More on her website theantlife.com
Other Ant Activities

Download Ant ID Activity (PDF)
Other Resources
Ants and citizen science
Project Kenan Fellows
Pictured (from left to right): Dr. Magdalena Sorger, Michelle Hafey, Paige Derouin, Dr. DeAnna Beasley and Maggie McKinley.
About the SciArt
Students Discover SciArt is created by Buzz Hoot Roar, the amazing team that brings science to life in their graphics-driven science blog.
About the Artist
Caitlin Atteberry is a graphic designer based in Raleigh, NC. Find Caitlin’s other work conveniently at caitlinatteberry.com.