Gardens Below the Leaves: teacher key

Bugs That Clean Up, grade 10 edition, written for 10th grade. Decay starts as soon as a living thing dies, and ants, microbes and fly larvae all take part. Leafcutter ants grow a fungus, forest soils differ, and food waste links to farms and gases.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What do leafcutter ants eat?
   • The leaves they cut
   • The fungus they grow (answer)
   • Dung
2. What do fungus-farming ants do if they cannot pluck out a bad mold?
   • They apply antibiotics to it (answer)
   • They move the whole garden
   • They bury the garden
3. In which kind of forest did invertebrate detritivores have a stronger influence on leaf decomposition?
   • Cold temperate forests
   • Forests with no leaves
   • Tropical forests (answer)
4. What is the problem with a compost pile that is too small?
   • Earthworms move in first
   • It does not get hot enough (answer)
   • Bacteria stop all work
5. What can chitin in frass do when it goes onto farm soil?
   • Warm the soil
   • Stop plants taking up water
   • Help suppress pests (answer)

Words

• decomposers: clean-up crew
• detritivores: leftover eaters
• chitin: hard skin stuff
• trophallaxis: food sharing
• antibiotics: germ-killing chemicals