Carolina Biological Supply Company Butterflies in the Classroom Session Objectives • To study the painted lady butterfly life cycle • To learn setup and care techniques • To explore caterpillar anatomy • To learn interesting butterfly facts Materials • Easy to maintain in the classroom NOTE: Carolina’s painted lady butterflies are laboratory reared. Natural populations are not depleted. Let’s Look at the Life Cycle • Complete metamorphosis: egg, larva, pupa, adult • Approximately 4 weeks from eggs to adults Adult Pupa Larva Eggs Observation Activity Observe life cycle: look at containers on each table. Examine live samples of 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa, adult Group Interaction and Discussion Classroom butterfly requirements: • Temperature—72 to 78° F • Humidity—high for adults (mist habitat) • Food—artificial food for larvae provided in culture cup NOTE: Do not place culture cup/larvae in direct sunlight. Adults require artificial nectar or flowering plants and water for proper nutrition. Supporting Information • Raised on live plants or artificial diet • Culture cups sustain caterpillars through pupa stage • Move pupae to cage before adult stage emerges Adult painted lady butterfly on mallow plant Painted lady pupal stage Let a Simple Learning Cycle Shape the Inquiry • • • • • ENGAGE EXPLORE EXPLAIN EXTEND EVALUATE A Closer Look Engage • How many legs do insects have? • How many legs do caterpillars have? • Are they all real legs? A Closer Look Explore • Use a soft brush to transfer a caterpillar from a culture cup into a Living Wonders™ View Chamber. • Observe the caterpillar. Invert the chamber to view the dorsal and ventral sides. • Describe the structure of the legs. • Observe the shape of the feet. A Closer Look Explain and Extend • There are many misconceptions about caterpillars. • Many children’s books portray an incorrect image of caterpillars. • Discuss some of the basic morphology of a caterpillar and compare it to these images. You Wear It Well Butterfly Necklace Materials: • Cup with 1 oz of diet • Lid with ribbon attached • Small paintbrush • Small butterfly larva • Paper disk Butterfly Necklace • Add food to 1-oz cup (may be prepared for you). • Transfer larva to culture cup. • Place 1 or 2 butterfly larvae in small vial. • Add paper disk and snap lid in place. Wear proudly After chrysalis forms, open lid and move paper disk with attached chrysalis to inside of butterfly habitat. Moving Pupae to Cage • Remove lid from culture chamber. • Remove tissue with attached pupae from lid. • Attach tissue to inside side of cage (with tape or pin). Note: Discard malformed pupae. If pupa detaches from tissue, tape back. Place tape across abdomen. Butterflies as a Tool to Teach Various Topics • Symmetry: Bilateral vs radial Example of bilateral symmetry Example of radial symmetry Butterflies as a Tool to Teach Various Topics • Human impact on nature: Peppered moth story Interdependence of Organisms Life cycle of Wisconsin Fast Plants® with cabbage white butterflies • Plant light house/butterfly cage • Explanation of Wisconsin Fast Plants® life cycle (host plant) • Tandem life cycle of cabbage white butterfly Cabbage White Butterflies Cabbage White Caterpillars Feeding on Fast Plants® Leaf Devoured Plants Larva Food Choice: “A Salad Smorgasbord” One Hour Later Caterpillar Preparing to Pupate Cabbage White Chrysalids Butterflies on Film Can Feeder Ovipositing Cabbage White Butterfly Butterfly Oviposition Experiment Let’s Learn More • Butterfly wings are colored due to scales Example of butterfly scales Let’s Learn More • Harvester butterfly larvae are carnivorous and eat wooly aphids • Fast? Clocked at 30 miles per hour • Largest? Queen Victoria, 2–3 grams . . . And a Little More • Smallest? Pygmy Blue, a few thousandths of a single gram Example of Western Pygmy Blue Butterfly And a Little More • Some caterpillars are capable of eating poisonous plants. These poisons are deadly to other animals. • Caterpillars that eat poisonous plants absorb and detoxify compounds. These then provide defense against predators. Take-Home Materials • Live butterfly necklace • Living Wonders™ View Chamber • Butterflies in the Classroom Instruction Manual • Various other printed instructional materials Resources from Carolina Kits discussed in workshop session: • Butterflies in the Classroom Kits (catalog no. 144012 and 144014) Resources from Carolina Kits discussed in workshop session: • Life in Balance: Plants and Butterfly Kit (catalog no. 158986) Resources from Carolina Need more butterfly kits and related products? See page 21 of the Butterflies in the Classroom manual. Carolina Free Resources Carolina offers many free resources to help support teachers. Evaluations: Share Your Thoughts! Scale = 1 to 10 10 = Outstanding 9 = Above Average 8, 7 = Average 6, 5, 4 = Below Average 3, 2, 1 = Well Below Average Please provide comments! Carolina Biological Supply Company Thank you for investing your time in our training program. For all of your classroom needs, check out our Web site, www.carolina.com. Enjoy the rest of the conference!