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Welcome to Becoming Butterflies: A 4-H Metamorphosis Project.
In addition to the live organisms, we've provided video lessons, vocabulary, assignments, and discussion questions below. Use some or all of these resources with your students to enhance the experience.
Data Collection Sheets
Use this printable Data Collection Sheet for students to record the daily changes they observe in their organisms.
Data Collection Sheets.pdfIntroduction to Becoming Butterflies
Vocabulary Words
Observation: Paying attention to details to gain information
Scientist: A person who studies the natural and physical world
Entomologist: A scientist who studies insects
Assignment
Research moths and butterflies. Find 3 ways that moths and butterflies are different.
Discussion Questions
What do you already know about butterflies?
How long do you think it will take your caterpillars to become butterflies? Make a prediction.
Lifecycles
Vocabulary Words
Metamorphosis: A profound change in form from one stage to the next stage in the life cycle of an organism.
Complete Metamorphosis: Four stages in the lifecycle
Incomplete Metamorphosis: Three stages in the lifecycle
Molting: Shedding the exoskeleton
Caterpillar: A butterfly larva
Chrysalis: A butterfly pupa
Assignment
Identify another animal that goes through complete metamorphosis and an animal that goes through incomplete metamorphosis
Discussion Questions
Humans don’t go through metamorphosis like butterflies do. But humans do change from the time they are babies to the time they are adults. Identify changes that happen in humans as they age. (examples: change in diet, graying hair/balding, need for more/less sleep, need for more/fewer calories throughout the day, losing baby teeth, growing taller, etc.). What types of animals go through similar changes?
Printable Worksheet
Butterfly Anatomy Worksheet.pdfButterfly Anatomy
Vocabulary Words
Antennae: used by the butterfly to smell and detect food and mates
Proboscis: What the butterfly uses to eat
Compound eye: Thousands of individual lenses on the eyes
Thorax: The body segment that the wings and legs are connected to
Abdomen: Holds the rest of the the butterfly's organs
Wings: Have scales that reflect light
Assignment
Look at another insect (in your yard at home or at school). See if you can identify the insect’s head, thorax, and abdomen.
Discussion Questions
Butterflies use a proboscis to eat. Flies have a sponge-like mouth. Mosquitos have a hollow piercing mouthpart (like a needle). Ants have cutters. How do these different types of mouthparts help the different insects eat?
Meet a Butterfly Scientist
Vocabulary Words
Lepidoptera: The scientific name for butterflies and moths
DNA: The carrier of genetic information present in living organisms
Assignment
Visit your backyard or a park. How many different types of insects can you find? Use a resource online (like iNatrualist) to identify as many insects as you can.
Discussion Questions
The scientist in the video shared that it took her many attempts to make a DNA extraction correctly, but she kept trying until she was successful. What is something you've had to try multiple times before you were successful?
Meet a Butterfly Keeper
Vocabulary Words
Lepidopterist: A person who studies butterflies and moths
Entomologist: A person who studies insects
Horticulturist: An expert in garden cultivation and management
Botanist: A person who studies plants
Assignment
Research the best types of plants to attract butterflies. Can you plant any of these in your yard or at your school?
Discussion Questions
In the video, the Butterfly Rainforest Manager says that people who study butterflies also need to study plants. Why do you think it's important for butterfly scientists to also know about plants?
Migration
Vocabulary Words
Migration: The seasonal movement of animals from one region to another
Irruptive Migration: A migration of animals that is not seasonally or geographically predictable
Assignment
Research another animal that migrates. Does it migrate for food, warmer weather, or other reasons?
Discussion Questions
How can you encourage more families and community members to plant butterfly friendly plants so more butterflies will visit your community?
Pollination & Habitats
Vocabulary Words
Pollination: The process by which plant pollen is transferred from the male reproductive organ (anther) to the female reproductive organ (stigma) to form seeds
Host plants: The plants where butterflies lay their eggs and what caterpillars eat
Nectar Plants: These plants are the food source for adult butterflies
Thorax: The body segment that the wings and legs are connected to
Abdomen: holds the rest of the the butterfly's organs
Wings: Have scales that reflect light
Assignment
Select a breed of butterfly and learn what type of plants it lays its eggs on and what type of plants the adult butterfly likes to feed on.
Discussion Questions
Why do you think pollinators are important for the environment? If pollinators all disappeared, how would that affect farmers?
Coloration and Adaptations
Vocabulary Words
Camouflage: A coloration pattern that helps animals blend in with their surroundings
Adaptations: The way organisms have adjusted to their environments
Assignment
Research another animal that uses its color to blend in with its surroundings.
Discussion Questions
The Zebra Longwing Butterfly can eat a different food source (pollen) than other butterflies. This gives it more energy and allows it to live longer than the average butterfly. How do the foods you eat affect your energy levels? What foods will give you the most energy and make you feel healthiest?
Bonus Content
Check out the resources below for more fun with butterflies and arthropods
Zoe's Mission
Follow Zoe, a Zebra Longwing Butterfly, as she travels home to lay her eggs.
Zoe's Mission was written by Rebecca Jordi and illustrated by Joanne Roach
Meet the Arthropods
Have your students enjoyed learning about butterflies? Are they ready to meet more bugs like tarantulas, scorpions, vinegaroons, and more?
Check out this video as we tour the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, meet some new arthropod friends, and learn how bugs impact our world.
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