Lia Camil González
8th Grade, Colegio Rosa-Bell
Guaynabo, PR
Evaluating the Effect of Spathodea campanulata (African Tulip) as an Ant Repellent To Protect Beehives
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Project Background
Lia and her teammate, Anya Teron-Villodas had discussed threats to honeybees with their teacher. “Bees play a vital role in ecosystems and agriculture, but they often face threats from predators that invade hives and disrupt their colonies,” Lia says. While they researched, they came across the African Tulip tree, Spathodea campanulata. “We noticed ants avoiding the tree or read about its possible insect-repellent effects,” Lia says. They decided to see if liquid from the tree could serve as a repellent.
Tactics and Results
The African Tulip tree is a large invasive tree in Puerto Rico. It forms hollow flower buds that fill with liquid. Anya and Lia wanted to find out if the liquid could serve as an ant repellant. They then built two model beehives. They placed tempting honeycomb in the dummy hives to attract ants and sprayed one hive with their African Tulip tree liquid. They checked the boxes every hour for four hours. After four hours, the control box had 183 ants, and 62 percent had reached the honeycomb. The African Tulip tree box had 91 dead ants. Meanwhile, the pair notices that bees flew into both boxes, attracted to the honeycomb, and appeared unaffected. The team concluded that the African Tulip tree liquid is capable of repelling and killing ants and hope to find out what compounds in the liquid make it effective.
Beyond the Project
Lia plays volleyball and has represented Puerto Rico in the Capitol Hill Volleyball classic tournament in Washington, D.C. She likes comics, and binge-watching movies and TV shows. “I also like drawing, coloring, arts and crafts because it keeps me out of electronics and at the same time it keeps me entertained,” she says. She would like to become a doctor. “Doctors not only heal but also provide comfort and hope to their patients. I admire their dedication and hard work, and I aspire to follow in their footsteps.”
