Life in side an Acorn

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Life in side an Acorn

• Acorn Weevil Lab

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Life inside an acorn

• What do you know about oak trees acorns?
• There is a whole world that we overlook everyday
  we will discover this wonderful world with this
  lab
• BE EXCITED!!!!!! WOOT WOOT!

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Acorn Insects

• Over 100 species of insects feed on the nuts of
  North American trees
• including acorns
• produced by oaks.
• We will be focusing on the interactions of
• acorn weevils
• acorn moth
• filbertworm
• Wasps
• These insects destroy so many nuts that it is
  difficult for trees to reproduce.

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Acorn Weevil

• 1/2 inch long
• have snouts with small, saw like teeth.
• two types of acorn weevil
• the long-snouted acorn weevils
• snout equal to or greater than length of body.
• Eat acorns still attached to tree
• short-snouted ones
• snout is ½ or less than its body
• Eat Acorns fallen on ground

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Life cycle of Weevil

• Legless, grub-like acorn weevil larvae hatch from
  eggs a few days after they are laid.
• Go through five growth stages, or instars.
• a few weeks, larvae chew their way out of the
  acorn, burrow into the soil to pupate
• eventually emerge as adults in 1 or more years.

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Life Cycle of Acorn Moth

• The grayish female acorn moths lay eggs in
  damaged acorns
• sometimes from the holes of acorn weevil larvae.
• It's easy to distinguish the acorn moth larva
  from acorn weevil larvae.
• The acorn moth larva has three pairs of legs near
  the head is generally longer than the legless,
  fat larvae of acorn weevils.
• Acorn moth Larva feed on acorns on the fungi
  that often grow in damaged acorns.
• They usually pupate inside the acorns

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Caterpillars Moth
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Life Cycle of Filbertworm

• The filbertwormis a moth whose larvae closely
  resemble the acorn moth, is also often found in
  acoms.
• Acorn moth attacks acorns on the ground
• the filbertworm attacks developing acorns on the
  trees.

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Gall Wasps

• Adult females lay their eggs in female flowers of
  oaks in the spring
• causes galls-abnormal growths of plant tissue,
• Gall wasp larvae live in and feed on the plant
  tissue inside the galls.
• External galls drop off the acorns in the autumn.

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Hypothesis

• I think, ____ out of 3 acorns will be infested
• because________________________________
• Remember there is no right or wrong in science,
  just educated guesses based on knowledge

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Materials

• 3 Acorns
• String
• Ruler
• Pliers

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LAB Procedure

• Find 3 Acorns outside
• Draw a picture of your 3 acorns
• Measure record the 3 acorns
• Diameter-width around acorn (string ruler)
• Weight-in grams
• Crack open acorn and search the meat
• Record if it is Infested or Not Infested
• If infested, record if weevil larva or
  caterpillars larva

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Data (s)
Acorn Drawing Diameter in mm Weight in grams Infected/Not Infected



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Calcuations

• Class Tally
• Infected/Not infected
• Figure
• Infested/Total acorns

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Conclusion

• Was your hypothesis supported of rejected?
• What are some sources of possible error?
• If we were to repeat the experiment, name 1 thing
  you would do differently
• What is something new you learned?

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New Questions

• Come up with 3 new questions on the Acorn Weevil
  Lab