WELCOME
TO
BUTTERFLY HABITAT & LIFE CYCLE
EDITED BY
Glen F. Graves
ILLUSTRATED BY
Adele Bentsen
Penny Murphree
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Sandra Farris
County Extension Agent
Family & Consumer Service
AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
The Leadership Center
in Cooperation with
Texas Cooperative Extension
The Texas A&M University System
Harris County Master Gardner’s Association
Houston Area Outreach Coalition
May, 2002
BUTTERFLY HABITAT & LIFE CYCLE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Teacher Resources/Supplementary Materials
Handout: “Butterfly Habitat & Life Cycle”
Helpful Hints
Sample Letter to Parents
Material List
Pre-Test
Introductory Activity
Lesson 1 CREATING A BUTTERFLY GARDEN HABITAT
Planning to Garden & Habitat, Planning to Plant, Starting Seeds, Planting a Garden, Nectar Plants for Butterflies, and Food Plants for Caterpillars
Lesson 2 BUTTERFLY LIFE CYCLE
Life Cycle, Making Life Cycle Picture Card, Book, & Wheel
Lesson 3 THE EGG
Where to locate them; identify the butterfly by its egg
Lesson 4 THE CATERPILLAR OR LARVA
Parts of a caterpillar, installs, building a cage to protect from predators
Lesson 5 THE CHRYSALIS OR PUPA
Where butterflies come from, identify the butterfly by its pupa
Lesson 6 THE BUTTERFLY OR ADULT
Butterfly rearing and observing techniques, catching butterflies and releasing them
Vocabulary
Resources
Visit Backyard Butterflies online at http://www.klru.org/butterflies / Table of ContentsBackyard Butterflies
Teaching Guide
BUTTERFLY HABITAT & LIFE CYCLE
THE LIFE CYCLE AND HABITAT OF BUTTERFLIES
Butterflies have many enemies. Birds, spiders, and insects eat them. But the greatest damage comes from humans. In the United States and Canada, butterflies face direct habitat destruction caused by humans. New roads, housing developments, and agricultural expansion all transform a natural landscape in ways that make it impossible for butterflies to live there. The more concrete we lay, the fewer butterflies we will see. The more wildflowers we replace with non-native plants, the fewer caterpillars we will find. The more insecticide we spray, the fewer flying insects will fill the sky. It is estimated that 8 out of 10 butterflies never reach adulthood. If the eggs aren’t mashed or the caterpillars eaten, the adults will probably die of thirst or drown in pesticide somewhere along the way. “Progress” is inevitable, of course. Man is a significant animal on our planet, but man’s actions are causing our fellow inhabitants to suffer and in many cases parish, often to the point of extinction. We have the technology on our side. We are winning the battle to expand our living areas at the expense of theirs. That is why butterflies desperately need our help. They need us to use our technology to help them maintain their livelihood.
The place to start helping is in your own backyards. There needs to be the kind of gardens to attract butterflies from the woodland into the suburban/urban setting. If every school had a butterfly garden planted, eventually there would be more butterflies for everyone to enjoy. It would give butterflies a reason to venture into the city or town. They need color and fragrance flowers, ponds, trees, even mud, not the cold expanse of glass and concrete, the offensive odor of pollutants, or the threat of death on the windshields and grilles of speeding vehicles.
Butterflies need healthy surroundings in order to survive. By supplying their needs, you can help them beat the odds against an early death and this curriculum will help you accomplish the goal. This curriculum will give you information on gardening and habitat construction that will allow butterflies to flourish. It will give you an understanding of the life cycle and will help you nurture them into becoming lively, healthy adults. It will even make you a better student by assisting you in becoming butterfly friendly.
Visit Backyard Butterflies online at http://www.klru.org/butterflies / Supplementary MaterialsHELPFUL HINTS
Notification of Parents
Send a letter explaining the activity asking parents to notify you if they feel their child should not take part. Possibly having the parent sign the notification and returning it with the student would be a good idea. A sample letter is attached.
Recruit Volunteers
Asking a couple of parents to help will make the construction of the butterfly cages, boxes, wood stack, watering dish, nets, and rearing containers, go much quicker (and it will be easier on you). Ask the parent volunteer(s) to help you gather the material for the containers.
Cleaning Up
Make sure that students wash with soap after contact with soil, butterflies or caterpillars. Also, if there are any scratches or cuts, clean them out with peroxide or send them to the school nurse. Butterfly culture is a safe activity, but childhood scrapes can be a problem if not cleaned and treated immediately.
Visit Backyard Butterflies online at http://www.klru.org/butterflies / Supplementary MaterialsSAMPLE LETTER
Dear Parents,
Your child is about to embark on a new adventure, one that he or she will likely wish to share with you. Our class is taking part in the "Butterfly Habitat & Life Cycle" activity series. This program will introduce students to the life cycle of the butterfly and the plants to attract butterflies in a habitat.
We will be working with soil, soaps, sugar water, and cages both indoors and outdoors. If you feel your child should not participate in the hands on activities because of allergies or respiratory problems, please notify me. We anticipate a safe, fun learning experience and welcome your participation.
Sincerely,
BUTTERFLY HABITAT & LIFE CYCLE
MATERIAL LIST
Lesson 1
Drawing Paper, Graph Paper
Crayons or colored pencils
Seeds or seedlings
Gardening supplies
(garden mix and potting soil, organic fertilizer, shovel, rake, hoe)
Containers to start seed
Containers of plants to be placed in the garden
Student Handouts:
"A Plant in a Butterfly Habitat"
"Procedure for Planning a School Butterfly Garden"
"Nectar Plants for Butterflies"
"Food (Host) Plants for Caterpillars"
"Herbs for Butterflies"
Lesson 2
Life cycle line drawings for wheel book
Copes of the wheel book pattern on card stock
Life cycle line drawings for picture book
Card stock Paper (4"X 6" for cards) for picture book
Brads
Glue
Scissors
Crayons, markers
Student Handouts:
“Are you Like a Butterfly?”
“Butterflies Are Insects”
“Name the Stages of a Butterfly”
“The Butterfly's Life Cycle”
“Making Life Cycle Picture Cards, Book & Wheel”
Lesson 3
Molding clay
Oil Paints
Brushes
Student Handouts:
Drawings of 8 butterfly eggs
Lesson 4
Clear 2-liter plastic soft drink bottle
Scissors
Small plastic tub, like a margarine container
Nail or pencil
Tape
Scrap of netting or old panty hose
Strong rubber band
Student Handouts:
5 Pictures of caterpillars
“Find the Parts of a caterpillar”
Making a caterpillar growing container, page 48-51 in “The Family Butterfly Book” (see resources)
Lesson 5
Toilet-paper tube
Tongue depressor or ice cream pop stick
Heavy paper with two butterflies drawn on it
6” piece of pipe cleaner, folded in half
Markers or crayons
Scissors and glue
Student Handouts:
Drawings of Chrysalis
“Butterfly Emerging from a Chrysalis”
Lesson 6
Student Handouts:
Drawings of a butterfly
“Butterfly Anatomy and Life Cycle”
“Making a Butterfly Net”
1 piece of nylon netting or organdy, 2 feet by 3 feet
1 coat hanger
1 broomstick or-” /4 inch dowel, 4 feet long
“Building a Butterfly Cage to Hang”
Hanger or large embroidery hoop
Cardboard round (e.g., from pizza) for base of cage
String or rope. Toothpicks, Paper clips, Bridal veil netting
When Releasing a Butterfly from page 85 of “The Family Butterfly Book” (see resources)
BUTTERFLY HABITAT & LIFE CYCLE
PRE-TEST
This test is not for a grade. Answer as best you can.
1. Butterflies and moths have:
a. 6 wings b. 4 wings
c. 2 wings d. no wings
2. The job of the caterpillar's mouth is to:
a. eat food and spin silk b. keep birds from eating it
c. look for food and things d. move the insect
3. A butterfly needs wings in order to:
a. keep warm b. get away from enemies
c. taste food d. spin silk
4. What does a caterpillar change into?
a. egg b. larva or chrysalis
c. grasshopper d. butterfly
5. Butterflies are most attracted to the color(s):
a. red b. purple and yellow
c. blue d. black and white
True or False
_____ 1. Host plants provide food for butterflies.
_____ 2. A butterfly is not an insect.
_____ 3. Nectar plants provide life-sustaining food for butterflies
Visit Backyard Butterflies online at http://www.klru.org/butterflies / Supplementary MaterialsBackyard Butterflies
Teaching Guide
Introductory Activity
WHY STUDY THE BUTTERFLY
DO
/SAY
Show a collection of pictures of butterflies from The Family Butterfly Book (see resources)Show picture and handout, “Vanessa, the Painted Lady”
Show pictures of the four stages of butterfly life.
Distribute student handout: “Butterfly Life Cycle”
Show pictures on page 10 and 39 of The Family Butterfly Book (see resources).
Show picture on page 18 of The Family Butterfly Book showing butterflies obtaining nectar from a plant. / The first reason for studying butterflies is they are beautiful. A cool name to call a butterfly is “leps”. It is short for a Greek word Lepidoptera; meaning scales (Lepidos) and wings (ptera).
The second reason for studying “leps” is they are small, abundant and suitable for studies. The most accepted theory of how butterflies received their name goes back to the British Isles. One of the most common species there was the Yellow Brimstone. Apparently, people first referred to it as a “butter-colored fly.” It wasn't long before the word was shortened to “butterfly”.
A lep goes through four stages of development, as shown by the handout. It is called a complete metamorphosis (Greek for transformation); egg, caterpillar or larva, chrysalis or pupa, and adult or butterfly.
The third reason, they breed rather quickly, suitable for studies on their biology. They have a short life cycle, about 60 to 90 days.
The fourth reason, they have a relationship with plants and other animals. The eggs are placed on a host plant by the lep. The caterpillar eats from the host plant and the lep; in contrast, drinks only fluids with its straw like proboscis from certain nectar plants.
Visit Backyard Butterflies online at http://www.klru.org/butterflies /
Introductory Activity
In January 2002 thousands of butterflies died in a winter storm in Mexico. Many scientist in the butterfly community wondered if the two largest monarch colonies would recover from this disaster. However, in February 2003 the butterflies were reportedly making a comeback.Read more:
http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?
linkid=8437
http://www.startribune.com/stories/
1551/3652774.html
if links are broken see reporter
Carol Kaesuk Yoon
View KLRU Backyard Butterflies. Discuss the contents of the program and have the students make a list of suggestions for creating a school butterfly garden.
Create your first butterfly. Give out Student handout: “Balancing Butterfly” / Finally, they react to changes in environmental conditions. They move from areas that do not have the right plants and migrate to areas with plenty of their favorite plants.
Other Discussion:
Many people believe that butterflies are such delicate creatures that they would die in the simplest breeze or anything less than perfect conditions. The truth is, butterflies have evolved to survive and thrive in extreme conditions. Talk about the Monarch butterfly die-off in the mountains of Mexico. Do you think they will come back? They exist everywhere in the world except for Antarctica. They are more in danger from environmental threats caused by humans than from natural weather conditions. They are hardier than we give them credit for, and they survive despite human intervention.
What are some positive actions that your students can take to help provide butterflies and other insects with resources that they will need to survive?
Follow the directions.
VANESSA, The Painted Lady
To help relay the information about butterfly habitat and life cycle, you'll meet VANESSA, a special mascot, who serves as a fun-loving guide for the students as they study their lessons.
The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) may be the most widespread butterfly in the world. It also is known as the thistle butterfly and the cosmopolitan (because it is so widespread, occurring in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa). This flying insect lives in temperate and some topical areas.
The adult Painted Lady is mostly black brown and orange with some white spots; the underside is gray with white and red markings. The adult has a 2 - 3 inch wingspan. Adults sip sweet thistle and clover nectar. The caterpillar usually feeds on thistle, mallow, malva, hollyhock and sunflower.
There goes miss Vanessa,“The Painted Lady”
Watch her flutter by.
What a busy life she has
As a butterfly
BUTTERFLY LIFE CYCLE
Butterflies go through four stages of life, but they only look like butterflies in the final stage.
• An adult butterfly lays an EGG.
• The egg hatches into a CATERPILLAR or LARVA.
• The caterpillar forms the CHRYSALIS or PUPA.
• The chrysalis matures into a BUTTERFLY.
BALANCING BUTTERFLY
Supplies:
Heavy card stock or watercolor paper
Watercolors/paint brushes
(2) pennies
Scotch tape
Playdough
Pencil
Object: To create a balancing butterfly that looks like it is flying.
Instructions: (1) Draw and paint a butterfly on the card stock or watercolor paper attached. Cut out the butterfly, either the one you drew or the one printed.
(2) On the underside of the butterfly (the side you did not paint) scotch tape a penny on each side.
(3) Fold on the dotted line.
(4) Roll a 1 1/2 inch round ball of playdough and stick a unsharpened pencil in the playdough, eraser side up.
(5) Balance the butterfly on the top of the eraser.
(6) Watch the butterfly flutter.
Visit Backyard Butterflies online at http://www.klru.org/butterflies /Introductory Activity
Backyard ButterfliesTeaching Guide
Lesson 1
CREATING A BUTTERFLY GARDEN AND HABITAT
Objectives:
1. Plan a butterfly garden to help provide leps and other insects with resources that they need to survive.
2. Plant seeds, seedlings, and potted plants.
3. Learn what plants attract butterflies.
Material Needed: