Background information

The Free State prairie is a prairie outside at our school. It is set up in different plots. Each plot is numbered 1- 18. Each plot is either planted with seeded grasses only, grasses and flowers, or grasses and 2x flowers. Our research on the prairie is directed towards bugs on the prairie and what type of plot attracts them. We wanted to do this question because we wanted to see if there were more of one type of bug in one plot than the others. Some good information to know about prairies so that you can understand what prairies are. Prairies are basically grasslands that are mostly filled with grass, flowers, and trees native to the area.

And are source: https://freestateprairie.wixsite.com/mysite

Evidence

We recorded data within three class periods of our biology class. During class, we went to the Free State Prairie and took pictures of all of the bugs we could find in the three different types of plots. Seeded grasses only, grasses and forbes, and grasses and 2x forbes. We recorded what plot the images were taken in and this graph shows the data we collected.

Reasoning

How do the different types of plot affect the amount of bugs present? We collected data in the three different types of plots including seeded grasses only, grasses and forbes, and grasses and 2x forbes. We found 6 insects in plot 5 (grasses and 2x flowers) including 3 grasshoppers, a cricket, a spider, and a mayfly. In plot 6 (seeded grasses only) we recorded 13 bugs including, 3 assassin beetles, 5 grasshoppers, a japanese beetle, 2 crickets, a daddy long legs, and a milkweed bug. In plot 12 (grasses and 2x forbes) we found 3 insects. 2 praying mantises and one grasshopper. According to our data the seeded grasses only plots attract the most insects. The plot with grasses and 2x forbes attracted a lower amount of insects than the plot with grasses and forbes. Therefore there are less insects when there are more forbes.

Discussion + Next Steps

If someone were to redo this project, it would be worth spending more time in the prairie looking for insects. The more insects you find, the more accurate the experiment would be. With more time, we would have been able to gain more accurate results.