Butterflies: Our Pollinators

Students will learn about how butterflies and how they act as pollinators. Students will examine how butterfly patterns help them blend in with their environments and avoid predation.

Duration
Less than 1 hour
Lesson Type
Traditional Lesson

Lesson Created By: Savannah River Ecology Lab

Collections

Essential Question

Why are butterflies imporant? How do they use camoflauge to prevent being eaten?

Grade(s):

  • 1

Subject(s):

Recommended Technology:

Other Instructional Materials or Notes:

Butterfly wing cut out
Crayons
String
Hole punch

Lesson Progression

  • Students will start to understand the butterfly structure and anatomy. Have students examine butterfly specimens (boxes of pinned examples works best).
  • Allow students to see the different shapes and colors different butterflies have and how that might help them in different environments.
  • Once students have been allowed to look at butterflies, they are going to make their own set of wings. Pass out the butterfly wings for students to color and decorate.
  • Once they are colored, have students cut them out, and come to you to have holes punched. Run yarn through the holes to create arm loops so students can wear their new wings.
  • Go around the room and have students talk about why they colored their wings the way they did. See if they can tell you what habitat they would best blend in with.

Teacher Notes

  • Butterflies are both beautiful and important pollinators. They are very active visiting many flowers during the day. Unlike many other animals, they do not have a good sense of smell, but rather have better vision, with red being one of the main colors they are attracted to (along with orange and yellow). They prefer flat clustered flowers that are easy to land on and brightly colored. They enjoy lots of nectar too. One of the most important plants to butterflies is Milkweed. Many insects cannot feed on milkweed sap, but some caterpillars, Monarchs, feed on the leaves. The juice of the milkweed actually plays an important role in making the caterpillars and butterflies taste bad to predators. This helps them avoid predation! Another strategy used to avoid being eaten is having wings patterned and colored to blend into their surroundings. The more closely they resemble their background, the less likely they are going to be eaten.