Moths Butterflies A Pathfinder Honor 7 1 Define

Moths & Butterflies A Pathfinder Honor 7

1. Define the following terms.

Antennae - paired appendages connected to the front-most segments of an insect. Antennae are jointed, at least at the base, and generally extend forward from the head. They are sensory organs - sensing touch, air motion, heat, vibration (sound), and especially smell or taste.

Cocoon- cocoon is a casing spun of silk as a protective covering for the pupa.

Pupa - A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation.

Larva - a juvenile form an insect that is undergoing metamorphosis. The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly. Larvae often have special (larval) organs which do not occur in the adult form.

Chrysalis - A chrysalis or nympha is the pupal stage of butterflies. Chrysalids are often showy and are formed in the open. Most are attached to a surface by a Velcro-like arrangement of a silken pad spun by the caterpillar and a set of hooks at the tip of the pupal abdomen.

2. What is the distinction between moths and butterflies?

Antennae / Feelers Moths have comb-like or feathery antennae, or filamentous and unclubbed. Butterflies thin slender filamentous antennae which are club shaped at the end.

Pupae Moths spin a cocoon made of silk within which they metamorphose into the pupal stage. Butterflies form an exposed pupa which is also termed as a chrysalis.

Coloration of Wings Moths Nocturnal moths are usually plain brown, grey, white or black and often with obscuring patterns of zigzags or swirls which help camouflage them as they rest during the day. Many day-flying moths are brightlycolored, particularly if they are toxic. Butterflies have bright colors on their wings. A few butterflies are also plaincolored, like the Cabbage White butterfly.

Time of Activity Moths are nocturnal – night activity There are however exceptions, including the diurnal Gypsy moth and the spectacular "Uraniidae" or Sunset moths Butterflies are diurnal – both day and night activity

Resting Posture Moths usually rest with their wings spread out to their sides. Butterflies frequently fold their wings above their backs when they are perched although they will occasionally "bask" with their wings spread for short periods.

3. Identify and describe some moths and/or butterflies by their cocoons.

Monarch Butterfly

Pieris Rapae

Actias luna (Luna Moth)

Dogbane tussock moth

Gulf Fritillary

4. What causes colored powder to come off on your hands when you handle the wings of a butterfly or moth?

This powder is made from tiny scales which cover the butterfly's wings. These scales give the wings their color, as the membrane beneath the scales is nearly transparent. The scales detach when contacted by a finger, much as the skin on a person's knee is abraded when it contacts a sidewalk.

5. Name some harmful tree moths and harmful house moths. Tell during what stage of their lives they each do their damage.

Gypsy Moth The gypsy moth was introduced into the United States in 1868 by a French scientist. It is now one of the most notorious pests of hardwood trees in the Eastern United States. Gypsy moths eat only during their larval stage.

Tent Caterpillar Species occur in North America, Mexico, and Eurasia. Twenty-six species have been described, six of which occur in North America. Caterpillars build a single large tent which is typically occupied through the whole of the larval stage.

Lesser Wax Moth Wax moths were first seen in North America in 1806. People believe they came over with honeybees from Europe. . The larvae are the only ones that eat, the adults will not eat.

Codling Moth Coddling moths are known as an agricultural pest, their larva being the common apple worm or maggot. It is native to Europe and was introduced to North America, where it has become one of the regular pests of apple orchards.

Clothing Moth Like most moth caterpillars, it can (and will) derive nourishment not only from clothing but also from many other sources. Eggs hatch into larvae, which then begin to feed. Once they get their fill, they pupate and undergo metamorphosis to emerge as adults.

White Shouldered Moth The White Shouldered House Moth is a very common moth and occurs regularly inside buildings, and being continuously-brooded, can be found at any time of year, mainly found indoors via open doors, windows etc. It is a widely distributed species whose larvae infest stored grain

6. What famous butterfly follows the birds southward every winter and comes northward in the spring ?

Monarch Butterfly Monarch butterflies are especially noted for their lengthy annual migration. They make massive southward migrations starting in August until the first frost. A northward migration takes place in the spring. Female Monarchs deposit eggs for the next generation during these migrations. By the end of October, they reach their overwintering grounds. How the species manages to return to the same overwintering spots over a gap of several generations is still a subject of research; the flight patterns appear to be inherited, based on a combination of circadian rhythm and the position of the sun in the sky.

Monarch Butterfly Video

7. Describe the life cycle of a butterfly or moth. What lesson can be learned in connection with the resurrection of the righteous.

Butterflies and moths are notable for their unusual life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colorful winged adult form. Unlike many insects, butterflies do not experience a nymph period, but instead go through a pupal stage which lies between the larva and the adult stage. The four stages of a butterfly's life cycle are…. .

Stage 1 - Egg Butterfly eggs are fixed to a leaf with a special glue which hardens rapidly. As it hardens it contracts, deforming the shape of the egg. Eggs are usually laid on plants. Each species of butterfly has its own host plant range and while some species of butterfly are restricted to just one species of plant, others use a range of plant species, often including members of a common family.

Stage 2 - Caterpillar Larvae, or caterpillars, are multi-legged eating machines. They consume plant leaves and spend practically all of their time in search of food. Caterpillars mature through a series of stages, called instars. At the end of each instar, the larva moults the old cuticle, and the new cuticle rapidly hardens and pigments. Development of butterfly wing patterns begins by the last larval instar.

Stage 3 - Pupa When the larva is fully grown, hormones are produced. At this point the larva stops feeding and begins "wandering" in the quest of a suitable pupation site, often the underside of a leaf. The larva transforms into a pupa (or chrysalis) by anchoring itself to a substrate and molting for the last time. The chrysalis is usually incapable of movement, although some species can rapidly move the abdominal segments or produce sounds to scare potential predators.

Stage 4 - Imago the adult, sexually mature, stage of the insect is known as the imago. After it emerges from its pupal stage, a butterfly cannot fly until the wings are unfolded. A newly-emerged butterfly needs to spend some time inflating its wings with blood and letting them dry, during which time it is extremely vulnerable to predators. Some butterflies' wings may take up to three hours to dry while others take about one hour.

Resurrection The life cycle of the butterfly has parallels to the life cycle of a Christian. During the larval stage, a butterfly lacks the beauty of an adult. It spends all of its time feeding itself, often causing major damage to plants. This stage of a butterfly's life can be likened to the unrighteous state of man, in that it is unlovely and often ignorant of the damage it causes. Eventually, the caterpillar pupates. This stage is parallel to death. While inside its chrysalis, the butterfly is transformed. This is not something it is conscious of doing. At the resurrection of the righteous, the Christian will also transformed by Christ into a new person, free from all defects. Gone are the selfish desires and the ugliness. It is a beautiful creature free from sin.

8. Identify and describe 25 species of moths and butterflies. Follow the directions on the following slides to complete this requirement.

American Snout Butterfly The American Snout (Libytheana carinenta) is a butterfly that has long labial palps (mustache-like scaly mouthparts on either side of the proboscis) that look like a long snout. The butterfly has a 1 3/8 - 2 inch (3. 5 - 5 cm) wingspan. The front pair of legs on the male (but not the female) are reduced in size. Eggs are laid in groups on the hackberry plant. The caterpillar eats hackberry (celtis); the adult sips nectar of the flowers from asters, dogbane, dogwood, goldenrod, sweet pepperbush, and more. Adult American Snout butterflies look like dead leaves. They sometimes go on long migrations. They are brush-footed butterflies (Family Libytheidae).

Blue Morpho Butterfly The Blue Morpho butterfly (Morpho menelaus) is a species of neotropical butterfly that has iridescent blue wings (the females are not as brilliantly colored as the males and have a brown edge with white spots surrounding the iridescent blue area). The undersides (visible when the butterfly is resting) are brown with bronze-colored eyespots. Adults drink the juices of rotting fruit. The caterpillar of the Blue Morpho is red-brown with bright patches of lime-green on the back, and it eats the plant Erythroxylum pilchrum nocturnally (at night). Blue Morphos live in rainforests from Brazil to Venezuela. Blue Morphos belong to the Family Nymphalidae, Genus Morpho, and species menelaus.

Garden Tiger Moth The Garden Tiger (Arctia caja), also known as the Great Tiger Moth, is a common moth that is has a 1. 8 -2. 8 inch (4. 5 -7 cm) wingspan. Its caterpillar, the black woolly bear, has long black hairs on top and rust-colored hairs on the underside. It is found in Europe and Asia in temperate regions, and less frequently in the Canada and Northern USA. Family Arctiidae.

Goliath Birdwing Butterfly The Goliath Birdwing (Ornithoptera goliath) is the second-largest butterfly in the world. This brightly-colored butterfly is poisonous and has a wingspan up to 11 inches (28 cm) wide. It has black, yellow and green wings and a yellow and black body. This butterfly in found in tropical forests in Indonesia. Family Papilionidae.

Milbert’s Tortoiseshell Milbert's tortoiseshell (Nymphalis milberti) is a small butterfly with a squared-off fore-wing. The wingspan is 1. 6 - 2. 5 inches (4. 2 - 6. 3 cm). It lives in North America from southern Alaska down to Mexico. Huge batches of eggs (up to 900) are laid on nettles. The caterpillar eats nettles; the adult feeds on flowers (thistles, goldenrods, and lilacs), sap and rotting fruit.

Painted Lady Butterfly Vanessa cardui is a widespread butterfly in temperate and some tropical areas. It also known as the thistle butterfly and the cosmopolitan. The Painted Lady has a 2 - 2 7/8 inches (5. 1 - 7. 3 cm) wingspan. Adults sip thistle nectar and some hibernate. The life cycle begins with tiny, pale green eggs. The yellow-striped, brown-green spiny caterpillar builds a silky, webbed nest, usually in thistle. Family: Nymphalidae

Peacock Butterfly The peacock butterfly (Inachis io) is a common butterfly from temperate parts of Europe (including Britain) and Asia. This butterfly makes a hissing sound when it is alarmed (usually upon seeing a bird); it makes the sound by rubbing its wings together. The wings are brownish-purple with a bright eyespot on each wing (the wings look a bit like an owl's face). The undersides of the wings are mottled grayish-brown. The larval host plant is the stinging nettle; the caterpillar is black with spines. Classification: Family Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies), genus Inachis, species I. io.

Postman Butterfly Heliconius melpomene is a poisonous butterfly from neotropical habitats in Central America to Brazil. This butterfly has long antenna, and wings that are brown with orange spots. They have a wingspan of 2. 5 to 3. 25 inches (6 to 8 cm). The caterpillars eat passion vines (Passiflora). Family: Nymphalidae, genus Heliconius, species H. melpomene.

Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing Queen Alexandra's Birdwing is the biggest butterfly in the world, with a wingspan up to 1 ft (30 cm) wide. The female is larger than the male and is brown with cream spots; the male is brown with blue and green markings and has a bright yellow abdomen. The caterpillar is black with red tentacles and has a cream-colored spot in the middle of its body. This rare butterfly is found in the lowland forests of northern Papua New Guinea (east of the Owen Stanley Mountains).

Red Admiral The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is a common migratory butterfly found in marshy north temperate regions of Asia, Europe and North America. It is a fast flier. Its caterpillar lives only on nettles. Classification: Family Nymphalidae.

Saturn Butterfly The Saturn Butterfly (Zeuxidia amethystus) has a wingspan of about 3. 9 -4. 3 inches (10 -11 cm) and lives in the shady forest understory. The female is paler than the male (above). The Saturn Butterfly is found in Malaysia, Borneo, the Philippines, Burma, and Sumatra. It was named by Butler in 1865. Classification: Family Nymphalidae (Subfamily Morphinae).

Summer Azure Butterfly The Summer Azure Butterfly (Celestrina neglecta) is a small, lilac-blue butterfly with a paler underside. It has a wingspan of 3/4 to 1 1/8 inch (2 - 2. 75 cm). It lives in open areas and grassy fields, and it sips clover nectar. It is found in most of eastern North America. The Summer Azure is the palest of the Azure butterflies. It was named by Edwards in 1862. Classification: Family Lycaenidae.

Ulysses Butterfly Papilio ulysses, also known as the Ulysses butterfly, the Blue Mountain Swallowtail, the Blue Emperor, and the Mountain Blue, is a spectacular Australian butterfly. The male is an iridescent blue-green with a dark background. The female is more subdued in color. They have a wingspan of about 5. 5 inches (14 cm). Both have a long "swallowtail. " Males are attracted to most blue objects (mistaking them for females). There are 16 known subspecies.

Viceroy The Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) is a brown and orange non-poisonous butterfly that is very similar to the Monarch; it is a Batesian mimic of the poisonous Monarch. It can be distinguished from the Monarch by the black line that crosses its wings. Also, the undersides of its wings are quite similar to the topside (unlike the Monarch, whose underside is much lighter). It has a wingspan of 2. 75 to 3 inches (7 to 7. 5 cm). The Viceroy is found from Canada to Mexico. The caterpillar is olive green and brown with bristly tufts behind the head; it eats mostly willow and cottonwood. Classification: Family Nymphalidae.

Zebra Swallowtail The Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) is a butterfly with distinctive black and white markings and elongated tails on its hindwings. The caterpillar is yellow-green with black and yellow stripes. Larvae eat pawpaw. The Zebra Swallowtail has a wingspan of about 2 -2. 75 inches (5 -7 cm). The Zebra Swallowtail lives for about 6 months in its adult stage. It is found in the eastern part of North America from Canada to Florida, USA. Family Papilionidae.

Tiger Swallowtail The tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucas) is a strong flier with distinctive yellow and black striped markings on its wings and body (some females are brown or black, mimicking the poisonous pipevine swallowtail). This butterfly has a wingspan of 3. 5 -6. 5 inches (9 -16. 5 cm) and is found throughout the USA and Canada. The caterpillar is plump and green with yellow eyespots; it looks like bird droppings when young. Larvae eat leaves from the tulip tree, sweet bay, wild black cherry, ash, lilac, aspen, birch, and choke cherry.

Southern Dogface The southern dogface butterfly, Colias cesonia, is a yellow butterfly that is also known as the dog's head butterfly. The wings are mostly yellow; there is a small dark circle in the center of the forewing and the margins of the wings are black) they look a bit like a dog's face). Males have brighter coloration than females. The wingspan is 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 inches (58 -65 cm). The caterpillar is green with black and yellow stripes. This butterfly lives in open woods in the southern half of the USA. The larval host plant is the false indigo bush, Amorpha fruticosa (a legume). Classification: family Pieridae, genus Colias (Zerene), species C. cesonia.

Mourning Cloak Butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa, Linnaeus 1758) The mourning cloak (also known as Camberwell beauty) is a butterfly with unusual forewing outlines. The dark maroon wings have pale, speckled edges and a dark inner margin with blue spots. Eggs are laid in large clusters on elm, poplar, and willow trees. The caterpillar is black with white spots and has maroon patches on the back. This larva eats the leaves of poplar, elm, salix, and betula. Adults sip fermenting fruit juices, oak sap, and flower nectar. The mourning cloak is found in riparian forests in Europe, North America, and temperate areas in Asia.

Julia The Julia is a yellow-orange tropical butterfly with long forewings. It is about 3 -4 inches wide. The female Julia is a duller shade of orange and has more dark markings. The small, yellow-to-gold eggs are oval and the pupa is angular. The Julia caterpillar feeds on passion flower vine (Passiflora); the adult sips nectar from the flowers of the lantana and shepherd's needle. Julias are found from South and Central America to the southern USA. The Julia belongs to the Heliconians, tropical butterflies that have a large head and have a bad taste and smell. It is a brushfooted butterfly (Family Nymphalidae).

Karner Blue Butterfly The Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) is a small, blue butterfly that has a wingspan of about 1 inch (2. 5 cm). This endangered species lives in oak savannas and pine barrens and is associated with wild lupine (Lupinus perennis, a plant that the caterpillar eats). Adults drink the nectar of horsemint, butterflyweed, and bachelors button. The adult male (pictured above) and female have a very different appearance. The upper sides of the male's wings are silver to dark blue with white and black margins. The upper sides of the female's wings are gray-brown to blue, with some bands of orange crescents along the bottom of the hind wing, and white and black margins. The underside of the wings of both sexes are grayish in colorwith orange crescents and some metallic spots along the bottom of both hind wings. The green caterpillar is tended by ants; these ants collect a sugary liquid that is secreted by the caterpillar, and the ants protect the caterpillar from some predators and parasites.

Monarch Butterfly The Monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a common poisonous butterfly found worldwide. It eats milkweed in its larval stage and lays eggs on the poisonous milkweed plant. Monarchs have a wingspan of 3 3/8 - 4 7/8 inches (8. 6 12. 4 cm).

Still Need More? The rest of the butterflies and moths that you need can be found within the previous pages of this Power. Point. (Right Click – “Go to slide”)

Quiz Time! Take this quiz to complete this honor

1. What is the difference between the moth’s and the butterfly’s antennae? 2. List (in the correct order) the life cycle stages. 3. What give the butterfly’s wings its color? 4. How is the gypsy moth harmful? 5. Where does the Monarch Butterfly overwinter? 6. How does the Monarch Butterfly return to the same overwintering location each year?

Check Your Answers

1. Butterfly have antennae with club shaped ends. Moth antennae are comb -like or feathery 2. Egg, Caterpillar, Pupa, Imago 4. Damages hardwood trees in eastern United States 5. California Coast & Mexico 6. Circadian Rhythm & the position of the sun in the sky

Congratulations! You have completed the Moths & Butterflies honor. Please take your paperwork to your instruction and have it signed.