Beautiful Insects by Kelly Bono Butterflies

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 SSix legs PPair of antennae EExoskeleton 00, 2, or 4 wings TThree body parts Head Thorax Abdomen

Insect Body Parts 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 Wing Scales Wing Veins Proboscis (for feeding) Compound Eyes 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 3) Chrysalis4) Adult Butterflies go through four life stages.

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? 2) What are two names for the second stage and what is its main function? 3) What is the third stage called and how is it formed? 4) What is the first thing that an adult butterfly must do after its wings are dry? Click Here for Actual Pictures of Metamorphosis Click Here for Monarch Magic

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 butterfly