Common Sulfer Butterlfy on Buddleia copyright 2011 Lisa Haberman

North American Butterflies & Moths of Fields, Meadows and Fencerows

Newly emerged Painted Lady Butterfly

Harness these Butterfly Resources:

Start with the Butterfly Internet Hunt part 1 to become acquainted with general butterfly facts.

Things to Discover:

1. Label the parts of a butterfly and explain each part's function: M-W Visual Dictionary | 4-H at Home

forewing, proboscis, hindwing, antennae, head, eye, thorax, legs and abdomen

Hind wings help butterflies make swift turns to evade predators

Frayer Activities - Butterflies - doc. | pdf. , Moths - doc. | pdf.

2. Describe the five families of butterflies: Swallowtail, sulphurs, brushfooted, gossamer wings, & skippers.

Name one species of each family of butterflies that can be found in your region. Taxonomic Groups

3. Diagram the butterfly life cycle: egg, larva, caterpillar, cocoon/chrysalis/pupae, and adult.

4. What is Complete Metamorphosis and Incomplete Metamorphosis?

Frayer Activity - Insect Metamorphosis - doc. | pdf.

5. What role does mimicry and camouflage play in a meadow insect's survival?

6. What is an insecticide? What is a herbicide? How could each one impact butterflies?

7. Identify a butterfly or moth that is considered a pest. Why?

8. Name a species of butterfly or moth that is considered rare or endangered in your state.

Identify a plant and an animal that may depend on this insect.

What impact would the loss of the butterfly or moth have on the habitat?

What action(s) can be taken to protect it?

Does your state have a state insect? If yes, have you observed it?

9. What is a host plant? How is the milkweed important to the Monarch Butterfly?

Assess the situation - Select a butterfly found in your community. Does its host plant(s) grow at your school, home or local park?

10. Observe carefully as you watch A Monarch Butterfly is Born online video.

Write several questions that you have about what you observe.

11. Monarch Butterfly look-alikes - Which ones do you think you have seen in your community?

Identify these interesting Lepidoptera ...

Butterfly	Host plant
Spicebush Swallowtail	spicebush, sassafras, sassafras 2
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	wild cherry, tulip poplar
Zebra Swallowtail	pawpaw, pawpaw 2, pawpaw 3
Clouded Sulphur	clovers
Great Spangled Fritillary	violets
Monarch Butterfly	milkweeds
Red Admiral - a second site	thistle
American Copper	sheep sorrel
Eastern-Tailed Blues	flowers of legumes
Silver-Spotted Skipper	locusts - native trees Wisteria
Bagworm
Eastern tent caterpillar site 1 - site 2
Cecropia moth
Cabbage Moth	cabbage, broccoli

Career and Work:

Identify 3 jobs that are related to Lepidoptera.

What percentage of these jobs involve spending most of your time outside?

Would you like a job that involves working outside most of the time?

Butterfly math project | Make a school habitat garden for butterflies - pbl | School Insect Mascot - pbl

Describe the Classification of a butterfly or moth to its Order. Do the Butterfly Crossword Puzzle

Frayer Science Vocabulary Activity - Insect - doc. | pdf.

Fields, Meadows, and Hedgerows: Habitat | Mammals | Birds | Insect - Butterflies | Trees & Plants - Milkweed | Conclusion

Ecology Vocabulary Exercise | Life Cycles | Mystery Butterfly activity | Mystery Caterpillar and IPM

EcoCommunity Status in your state | Fields, Meadows & fencerows photos | Citizen Scientist - Collect some data

Collecting data Activity doc. / pdf | Gardening for Butterflies | Milkweed and Monarch Butterfly Mania

Mystery Bird activity / What is bugging you? / School habitat garden project | Insects Internet Hunt

Map trees & Inventory project | Ecology Vocabulary Exercise | Food Web activity

Internet Hunts / Nature / Problem based Learning / Computer Tutorials / Habitat Garden / Education links / Home

Updated 7/2024, 7/2010 Posted 1998 by Cindy O'Hora

Released to public domain in honor of Mary Davis Treat & Edith Marion Patch, exceptional entomologists .

Save a tree - use a Digital Answering format - Highlight the text of the title, directions and questions. Copy the text. Paste it in a word processing document. Save the document in your folder. Enter your name and the date at the top of the document. Answer on the word processing document in an easily read, contrasting color or font. (No yellow, avoid artistic fonts like: Symbols, , , & fonts). Save frequently as you work. Submit your digital answer sheet via email or drop box. Make Your Own Printed answer sheet

The goal of this web project is to inform people through research while employing higher order thinking skills. This study unit encourages the use of free Internet information resources. Activities develop writing, information literacy, technology and mathematics skills. The resources posted here may be freely adapted or modified to meet each student's unique skills or interests.