Transcript Beautiful Insects by Kelly Bono Butterflies

Beautiful Insects
Butterflies
by Kelly Bono
 Students will create posters depicting and describing the
four stages of the complete metamorphosis of butterflies.
Students will document the transformation of eggs to adult
butterflies using indoor butterfly gardens that they will
maintain.
Review of Characteristics
of Insects
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Six legs
Pair of antennae
Exoskeleton
0, 2, or 4 wings
Three body parts
 Head
 Thorax
 Abdomen
Insect Body Parts
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The head consists of
the compound eyes,
the mouthparts, and
the antennae.
The thorax is the
muscular part of the
body that houses the
legs and wings.
The abdomen is where
the digestion and
reproduction systems
are located.
Other Special Butterfly Anatomy
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Wing Scales
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Wing Veins
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Proboscis (for feeding)
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Compound Eyes
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Taste Receptors (feet)
The Complete
Anatomical Picture
Does anyone know…..
Before a butterfly becomes a butterfly, it is actually in
another form first. Does anyone know what turns
into a butterfly?
A caterpillar, of course!
Imagine that one night your pet goes to sleep on his/her
bed….
and wakes up 2 weeks later
looking completely different!!!
This may seem like what happens to a caterpillar when it turns into a
butterfly, but it is actually more complicated than that. Let’s learn
more about it!
Life Cycle of Butterflies:
Complete Metamorphosis
1) Egg
2) Larva
Butterflies go through four
life stages.
3) Chrysalis
4) Adult
FIRST STAGE: EGG
Butterflies start out as small eggs that are
usually deposited singly on leaves. The
adult female must choose the correct type
of plant since the larva (caterpillar) will
usually eat only certain plants. The egg will
hatch in 4-10 days.
SECOND STAGE: LARVA
(OR CATERPILLAR)
The larva that hatches out of the egg looks
like a worm, but actually has a distinct head
with chewing mouthparts, antennae, and
simple eyes. The caterpillar has 6 true legs
on the thorax and 10 false legs on the
abdomen.
SECOND STAGE: LARVA
(continued)
The caterpillar is the longest life stage of the
butterfly’s life cycle. It lasts from 3-4 weeks.
The caterpillar’s main job is to eat a lot of leaves.
As it grows, the caterpillar will molt when the
old exoskeleton becomes too tight. It will molt
3-4 times.
THIRD STAGE: CHRYSALIS
What you can’t see when a caterpillar is molting
is that it is slowly getting the features of a
butterfly under its exoskeleton. After molting 3-4
times, the caterpillar is ready to become a
butterfly. The caterpillar hangs itself upside
down from a stem or other surface and molts one
last time. After this last molt, it no longer looks
like a caterpillar…it is a chrysalis.
THIRD STAGE: CHRYSALIS (continued)
After 1-2 weeks, the adult butterfly will emerge
from the chrysalis. It will be crumpled when it
first crawls out, so it hangs on the plant and
allows its wings to dry and expand.
Does anyone know…..What is the difference
between a chrysalis and a cocoon??
FOURTH STAGE: BUTTERFLY
After a few hours the wings are ready for flying,
and the butterfly goes off to seek nectar to eat!
Adult butterflies usually live for
2-3 weeks. During this time, the adult will lay
eggs so the cycle can start all over again!
Test your metamorphosis knowledge…
1) What is the first
stage?
Click Here for Actual
Pictures of
Metamorphosis
3) What is the third stage
called and how is it formed?
2) What are two names for the
second stage and what is its main
function?
Click Here for
Monarch
Magic
4) What is the first thing that
an adult butterfly must do after
its wings are dry?
BUTTERFLY GARDEN GROUP
ASSIGNMENT
1) Each group receives their own butterfly
garden (Painted Lady butterflies).
2) Monitor the progress of your butterfly
garden daily.
3) Take pictures of all stages of
metamorphosis with classroom camera.
4) Label pictures with appropriate stages of
metamorphosis.
Here is what your Painted Lady
Butterfly garden will look like:
BUTTERFLY GARDEN GROUP
ASSIGNMENT (continued)
5) Use information learned in class, as well
as any additional research from books
and the Internet, to make a poster about
metamorphosis using your pictures.
6) When your group’s butterflies are ready
for release, you will be teaching
kindergarten and first grade classes what
you learned about butterflies, using
your poster to describe metamorphosis.
You will then get to release your
butterflies into the wild!
Possible Web sites to use
for additional research
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www.butterflyfarm.co.cr/farmer/bfly1.htm
www.butterflies-moths.com
www.mesc.usgs.gov/butterfly/butterfly.html
www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/ butterfly
www.butterflyschool.org/student/index.html