Ants can usually be attracted to any sugary bait and will be consumed by the water striders if dropped onto the surface of their tank. The water striders' needle-like mouthparts pierce their prey and the juices are sucked out. Water striders that had been submerged in the higher concentrations of detergent in the experiment were at first attacked by the others as food. This problem was circumvented by rinsing the striders that had been even partially submerged. The rinsed striders were then allowed to dry themselves on paper towel before being reintroduced to their fellows.
Water striders appear to be harmless to people.
This lab utilizes serial dilutions of pollutants. This is a valuable math-science link. Serial dilutions can be used to teach powers of ten, proportions, and concepts of scale. The teacher may choose to introduce the technique of serial dilutions prior to this inquiry investigation. Students would then be prepared to use the technique while investigating pollutants.