Today we read in our National Geographic Explorer about Butterflies in an article titled "Living Color". I read the article to the students and they completed a patchwork as I read, see my earlier post from Monday, March 2nd for another example of when we used this learning strategy. The students created some very interesting patches for our "quilt" of knowledge. The article taught us:
• Monarch butterflies migrate in October, fly up to 2,000 miles and up to 10,000 feet in the air.
• Butterflies migrate because they need a warmer place to live.
• They are found in many different habitats and places.
• Butterflies are insects, they have six legs, a head, a thorax, an abdomen, wings, antenna, and a probiscis.
• Butterfly wings are symmetrical, which means that both sides are exactly the same.
• A butterfly's wings comes from it's unusually feeling scales.
• Scientists are experimenting with makeups, computers and cell phones that use this technology.
• Butterflies go through metamorphosis, a special type of life cycle that consists of four stages: Egg, Larva, Pupa and Adult.
• Butterflies start as eggs, then become caterpillar, and then spin a chrysalis, and then emerge as an adult.
• Adult butterflies feed only on liquids, nectar especially. As they feed they pick up pollen from the flower and drop it on other flowers, this is pollination.
• Monarch butterflies eat milkweed, when they are caterpillars, which contains a toxic poison, but it does not affect them. As an adult, when a predator eats one, it leaves a nasty taste, and prevents that animals from eating another one.
• Humans are impacting the butterfly life cycle by using pesticides meant for other animals, that also hurts them, and by clearing the land that they call home.
• The largest butterfly is the Queen Alexandra's birdwing which can grow to 11 inches long.
• The smallest butterfly is found in China, and is the Tongeia minima, and is only half an inch long.
• Some butterflies can fly as fast as 30mph.
• The painted lady butterfly can fly for 620 miles, without resting. WOW!!!
Butterflies we discussed and their pictures:
Peacock Butterfly
Owl Butterfly
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
Monarch Butterfly and it's caterpillar
Chinese Peacock
Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterfly
Tongeia minima Butterfly
Painted Lady Butterfly
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