Want to help predict the future?
Join our citizen science project!
Anyone can participate
Here is what that looks like for the cabbage white butterfly. Think of the white bands as the butterfly doing "the wave" across North America :)
|
|
Steps to Participate
(teachers, download lesson plans here)
Step 1: Choose a butterfly
-does it leave nearby? (BAMONA)
-does it eat a plant you can grow or collect leaves from (you may need a lot of leaves)?
Step 2: Setup rearing cage
-need cage to rear the caterpillars (how to build one; where to buy one)
-where to keep it (indoor vs outdoor)
-determine how you will record temperature each day
-potted plant vs water tubes ()
Step 3: Catch female butterfly
-need help? (contact us, we'll try to find someone nearby who can help; LEPSOC)
-need a net
Step 4: Get female butterfly to lay eggs
-need a cage for laying eggs (how to build one; where to buy one)
Step 5: Hatch eggs
-...various ways to do this...
Step 6: Care for caterpillars
-keep food fresh
-don't overcrowd
-check daily for completion of life stage
-record data (datasheet--need to design these...temp, days, stage, how many individuals, disease, etc)
---if diseased (put in ziplock and send to us)
Going Further
Additional experiments you can do
-diapause induction
-critical photoperiod
Lesson plan
| predicting_the_future_with_butterflies_lesson_plan.docx |
Potential Study Insects
Black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)
|
|
