Growing With Science Blog

It’s time to start thinking about another citizen science project:  The Great Sunflower Project at www.greatsunflower.org.

The sunflower project involves growing a specific type of sunflower, Lemon Queen, and recording the types and how many bees come to visit the flowers.

This year the organizers are asking the participants to buy their own seeds because they can not fulfill the orders for the huge number of requests they received last year.

If you are interested in participating, the first step is to go to the website and register.  You will  find more instructions there and get future newsletters with information and updates.

The sampling protocol has been simplified a bit. This year you and your children will:
1) count the number of flowers on your plant with pollen;
2) record all bees (not just the first 5) your sunflower for 15 minutes; and
3) enter the data online.

Our family participated last year. I have to say I hadn’t had much success growing sunflowers before, but these Lemon Queen variety seeds grew beautifully.

We had quite a few bees visiting, although no honey bees.

Did you participate last year?

Let us know, we’d love to hear from you.

Are you interested in some quick and easy science activities? Children’s science writer Vicki Cobb has a webpage of science-related videos that show children performing simple science experiments and demonstrations that are perfect for some informal science experiences.

Note:  The videos are meant to complement her book We Dare You. Therefore some of the videos don’t have an explanation of the science, just a “to find out more go to the book” message. You might want to preview the “Vampire Fire” video before showing it to sensitive children.

As you can see from this promotional example I found on YouTube, the videos have a homemade charm.

Vicki Cobb’s books are perfect for the child who wants to do hands on science that’s fun, and maybe just a bit messy.

Leave me a comment if you have any questions about the videos or the science behind them.

Note: I have no affiliation with Vicki Cobb, but I do have an affiliation with Amazon. See the disclosure page for more information.

While taking the photographs of the tiny wasp last week, I noticed another insect that eats aphids.

Do you see it?

How about now?

Here’s a hint.

The caterpillar-like creature is actually the larva of a fly called a flower fly (syrphidae). Although you may think of fly larvae as legless creature found in garbage, the flower fly larvae chase down and eat aphids. They are often pinkish or greenish in color.

The adult flies feed on nectar of flowers, hence the common name. They are often mistaken for honey bees. (This is not the same species as the larva above.)

Have you ever seen a flower fly? Why do you think the larva is so hard to spot?